Berlin – German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Monday expressed support for the participation of South Korea in a G7 summit in the United States later this year.
Maas added that Russia should not be allowed to join.
“South Korea is one of the countries that are of particular importance globally, they are also a partner in terms of values, so I would very much welcome their participation,’’ Maas said.
Speaking at a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung Wha in Berlin, Maas said Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine were reasons that Russia should not participate.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who is hosting this year’s G7 summit, is pushing ahead with trying to bring other countries into the fold, with a particular emphasis on inviting Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In July, Trump questioned whether the G7 – made up of the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Britain, “properly represents what’s going on in the world” and described it as a “very outdated group of countries.”
Maas appeared to support this notion, saying “the global balance of power is no longer realistically depicted in many existing formats.”
(dpa/NAN)