The author is an associate researcher with the China Institute of International Studies
The Group of Seven (G7) Summit in Biarritz, France at the end of August achieved almost nothing due to the internal dissent among G7 members on many issues. However, with both the United States and France giving glad eyes to Russia, whether Russia would return to the exclusive organization accidentally became a highlight of the summit.
40年，铸就了一座雄厚的经济实力之城，同时又是一座古今辉映的文化之城。苏州地区生产总值由1978年的不足32亿元增加到2017年的1.7万亿元，列全国第七；人均GDP由634元增加到15.9万元，列全国第三，超过葡萄牙等国家。与强大经济硬实力相得益彰的是，苏州又是一座古今辉映的文化之城，不仅是罕见的“双遗产”城市，还是全国唯一的历史文化名城保护示范区。2014年，苏州因其在平衡经济发展与传承历史文化传统等方面的出色成绩获得李光耀世界城市奖。
On August 20, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his support for reinstating Russia, echoing a similar proposal he made on his way to Canada to attend last year’s G7 summit.
“生活如同一朵玫瑰，每片花瓣代表一个梦想，每根花刺昭示着一种现实”。法国作家缪塞这样说到，现实如刺，难免使人沉沦，但总有一种东西支撑我们在布满荆棘的现实中砥砺前行。那或许就是梦想，一颗夜空中最闪亮的启明星，让我们在人生的夜幕下不再踽踽独行。
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Fort of Bregancon, France on August 19, which was interpreted by French media as a Group of Eight (G8) summit in another form. On August 20, Trump and Macron reached an agreement to invite Russia to participate in the G7 summit to be held in the United States in 2020.
However, Russia and the United States have not yet reached agreement on issues such as Ukraine, the Iran nuclear issue and the Korean Peninsula. Notably, U.S. anti-Russia forces are strong, viewing the country as one of the top U.S. strategic competitors. Mutual trust has been undermined and will be hard to improve in the short run. The United States recently abandoned the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and it continues to launch medium-range missiles, widening the national security gap again and casting a shadow of an arms race on the European continent. Even if Russia returns to the G7, its relations with Western countries will not truly improve.
Russia-U.S. relations will also be difficult to improve in the short term. The most important diplomatic goal for Putin in his new term is to improve relations with the West and get sanctions removed. Since 2018, Russia has made efforts to improve relations with the United States and Europe.
Russia has not shown much interest in returning to the G7. After meeting with Macron, Putin announced that the G8 no longer exists. On August 25, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that returning to the G7 is not a Russian goal. It believes that other forms of consultations such as the Group of Twenty (G20) have more advantages over the G7.
The United States and France have been consistent with their support, but for different reasons. The United States wants to ease its relations with Russia in an attempt to restart Russia-U.S. talks and improve mutual relations by promoting its G7 return. In addition, Russia’s participation is necessary to address some international hotspots, such as the Iran nuclear issue and Syrian crisis.
Still no agreement
After the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, Russia sought and gained respect from Western countries and improved its international status by cooperating with them and joining the G7. However, some Western countries crossed Russia’s red line as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) three times expanded eastward and triggered “color revolutions” in some of the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, interfering with Russia’s sphere of influence with the aim of containing and suppressing it. As some Western countries actively call for Russia’s return to the G7, they have yet to lift economic sanctions and still view the Ukraine issue as a precondition of Russia’s return. Such a double-standard approach has kept Russia doubting the credibility of G7 members and worrying that Western countries may breach their promises again as they did in the 1990s.
基于上述预期，预计安全升级的建设工作将在2020年启动，并于2025年完成。电力开发公司表示，大间1号机组的投运时间“仍然未知”。
France hopes to further enhance its influence in Europe by supporting the readmission of Russia to demonstrate its independent foreign policy and diplomatic strategy. Along with Brexit, the recent Italian political crisis and the stepping down of German Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2021, the move will undoubtedly help France become a new leader of the European Union (EU).
Russian stance
According to Macron, readmitting Russia would only be viable if the issue of Crimea is resolved between Russia and Ukraine. However, given the current situation, Russia is unlikely to return to the G7 any time soon.
Moreover, there is still major disagreement over Russia’s return among G7 members. The U.S. and French proposal is only supported by the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte who is facing major issues at home. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe holds a neutral stance, while other G7 members are totally against the proposal. As Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, G7 members need to reach common ground first before raising any proposals.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) addresses a joint press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö in Helsinki on August 21, during which Putin called on the European Union to show a constructive approach toward relations with Russia
The connection between Russia and the G7 dates back to the 1990s, with the country attending its first G7 summit in 1994. In 1997, Russian President Boris Yeltsin was invited to participate in the summit by former U.S. President Bill Clinton. But Moscow’s relations with major Western countries turned sour after a popular referendum held in Crimea voted in favor of joining Russia in March 2014. Russia has since withdrawn from the group.
(2)建造模型之前要先确定冻土在溢洪道侧墙上的可能的冻胀压力，溢洪道侧墙后土体的温度应力-应变状态，土体冻裂的可能性，确定土体与溢洪道侧墙之间的间隙，确定裂缝的宽度和深度，引起溢洪道侧墙土体剥落的最大温度应力。
Russia values its relations with European countries more than with the United States. In recent years, Russia has highlighted its energy reserve edge, which has drawn its relations with many EU countries much closer. At present, only Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the UK harbor strong anti-Russia sentiments. The EU has clearly stated that it will no longer impose additional sanctions on Russia and will not agree on Ukraine joining the EU or NATO soon. Thus, whether to return to the G7 becomes even less important for Russia.
哄的一声，人群突然散开，把我挤在了前面，两副担架被人抬了出来。从身材的魁梧程度看，第一个抬出的应该是二狗子，只见那露出的胳膊，密密麻麻布满了针眼。
The declining status of the G7 is also a major factor that keeps Russia from viewing its return as necessary. As one of the most influential multilateral mechanisms among developed countries, the G7 once played an important role in guiding the global economy and development strategies. However, the G7’s legitimacy on leading global affairs has been increasingly questioned in recent years, along with the rise of emerging countries.
On some international hotspot issues such as revitalizing the global economy, dealing with relations with emerging countries, as well as issues such as Syria and Ukraine, G7 members have quite different views. Since Trump took office, the United States has upheld an America First policy and turned its back on many of its old allies. Due to the increase in tariffs, the digital tax issue and Brexit, the United States and Europe have found it hard to reach common ground, making it impossible for the G7 to address international and regional crises with concerted action and specific solutions.
The G7 summit has been increasingly viewed as a political show. Instead of betting on the G7, Russia believes some strategic priority issues can be addressed through the G20. Especially since even as a member of the G8, Russia was never fully integrated into the group.
The chances of Russia returning to the G7 look slim By Han Lu
Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo
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