MOSCOW. June 17 (Interfax) - The Kremlin agrees with U.S. President Donald Trump that Russia's expulsion from the Group of Eight was a mistake, but this format has now lost its practical significance, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said.
"We agree with President Trump that expelling Russia from the G8 was a big mistake at the time. However, our position is very well known that the G7 has lost its practical significance for us now, considering its shrinking share in the global economy and considering all those trends seen currently in G7 countries," Peskov told journalists on Tuesday.
"Certainly, the G7 looks quite bleak and pretty useless against the backdrop of such formats as the G20," he said.
That said, the Kremlin is monitoring the G7 summit currently underway in Canada, Peskov said. "Naturally, we've seen reports coming from Canada now. This is certainly an important event. And it's significant in information terms. Definitely, we analyze the incoming information," he said.
Trump said on Monday that he saw Russia's expulsion from the G8 as a mistake.