Donald Trump’s bid to bring pal Putin back to the G7 leave Theresa May furious
The summit was plunged into chaos following the US President's controversial call
DONALD Trump sparked Theresa May’s fury by calling for Russia to be re-admitted to the G7 just three months after the Salisbury outrage.
The US President plunged the annual summit of rich Western states into immediate chaos on his arrival in Canada with the controversial call.
The tense two day gathering was already billed as one stormiest international bust ups in decades amid a massive row over Trump’s new trade tariffs.
Vladimir Putin’s rogue country was thrown out of the group in 2014, following his invasion of Crimea.
But Mr Trump said: “Whether you like it or not, and it may not be politically correct, we have a world to run and in the G7, which used to be the G8, then they threw Russia out.
“They should let Russia come back in because we should have Russia at the negotiating table.”
The PM swiftly slapped down the president’s call, cooling their now tense relationship even further.
Refusing to hide her anger with Mr Trump, Mrs May slammed the door on any way back for Moscow until it ends its mayhem-making.
She insisted: “We should remind ourselves why the G8 became the G7, it was because Russia illegally annexed Crimea.
“We have seen malign activity from Russia in a whole variety of ways, of course including on the streets of Salisbury in the UK.
“So we need to say, I think, before any such conversations can take place Russia needs to change its approach." But Mr Trump’s call won support from another G7 member, Italy.
Its premier, Giuseppe Conte - the boss of the new populist government in Rome - tweeted: “I agree with President @realDonaldTrump: Russia should re-enter the G8. It’s in everyone’s interests”.
The row also threatened to torpedo a carefully constructed new plan by the G7 to call out rogue states’ like Russia for any future underhand attacks.
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The leaders had agreed to unveil their bid to come down hard on state players who mount cyber attacks or try to disrupt democracy with a new system of swift naming and shaming.
But a new G7 Rapid Response Mechanism to carry out the plan - and also share of intelligence, techniques and practices – was plunged into doubt.
Mrs May will also confront Italy’s boss Mr Conte on Saturday for wanting to relax sanctions on Russia during their first face to face talks.
PM Tariff warning to Trump
THERESA May has told Donald Trump his new steel tariffs will make the world poorer in a last-ditch bid to stave off a global trade war.
The PM and other G7 leaders confronted the US president at the summit last night.
An EU retaliation would be “unavoidable” unless Mr Trump had a rethink, she said.
She urged Mr Trump to join other G7 leaders to concentrate on China’s over-capacity of steel and aluminium.
But Mr Trump tweeted: “Looking forward to straightening out unfair Trade Deals. If it doesn’t happen, we come out even better!”