German businessmen demand to invite Putin to the G7 summit

Vladimir Putin should attend the G7 summit, as said by the head of the Eastern Committee of the German economy, Eckhard Kordes. In his opinion, the opportunity for a dialogue with Russia to resolve the international crisis and the conflict in Ukraine should not be missed. In addition, the solution of many other problems in the international arena is impossible without the participation of Russia.

For the second year in a row, the Russian president has not been invited to the G7 summit of industrialized countries. However, a few days before the G7 summit, German businessmen called for Vladimir Putin to be the official guest of the meeting. “Inviting Russia to the G7 summit could help resolve the global crisis and push Russia to take constructive steps in the Ukrainian conflict,” Cordes said.

The chairman of the German-Russian Forum, Matthias Platzeck, also demanded that Russia be returned to the G7 summit. "Disintegration processes in the Near and Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan and Syria can only be stopped with cooperation with Russia," Platzeck said. In addition, the fight against international terrorism is also possible only together with Russia, the expert added.

Russia was barred from participating in the G8 summit in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea to Russia and amid the deepening conflict in Ukraine. Despite these events, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been in constant contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

German firms are currently experiencing the dire consequences of the Ukrainian conflict. The fact is that as a result of Western sanctions against Moscow, the depreciation of the ruble and the recession in the Russian economy, exports from Germany to Russia have significantly decreased, which negatively affects the income of German businessmen.

In addition, diplomatic tensions between Russia and Germany intensified after Moscow announced a "black list" of European politicians who are prohibited from entering Russian territory. The blacklist of EU citizens includes 89 people, of whom 18 are Polish citizens. A senior Russian Foreign Ministry source said the restrictions were imposed solely as a response to the actions of the European Union.