Holding an expanded session of the Group of Seven (G7) is right in principle, but the format still lacks representation, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Any global affair could not be a success without China’s participation, the ministry’s spokesperson Maria Zakharova told RIA Novosti news agency.
Russia agrees with the comments made by US President Donald Trump that the G7 is “a very outdated group of countries,” which does not properly represent “what’s going on in the world,” she said, Xinhua news agency reported.
Zakharova also praised the Group of 20 as an effective and well-established format, which includes both the G7 and BRICS countries.
She made the remarks after Trump said Saturday that leaders of Russia, South Korea, Australia and India should be invited to this year’s G7 summit.
‘Nuclear Attacks’-Russia reserves the right to retaliate for nuclear attacks, according to a decree on the fundamentals of Russia’s state policy of nuclear deterrence, which was signed by President Vladimir Putin.
“The Russian Federation reserves the right to launch a nuclear strike either in response to a similar attack or in the event of a threat to the existence of the state,” the decree reads on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.
It says Russia’s policy is defensive in nature and is aimed at maintaining its capabilities at a level sufficient to ensure nuclear deterrence, guarantee the protection of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and prevent aggression against the country or its allies.
With nuclear deterrence, Russia will take into account the deployment of hypersonic and laser weapons, missile-carrying and strike drones, missile shields, and nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction by potential enemies, it said.
Russia considers the creation and deployment of missile defence systems and strike systems in space as a threat, and its neutralization requires nuclear deterrence, it said.
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