ROME — President Barack Obama and leaders of the world’s largest industrialized countries expelled Russia from the Group of Eight until it “changes course” in Ukraine and formally canceled plans to attend an economic summit in Russia in June.
The move was aimed at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plan to host the G-8 group of economic powers at Sochi, Russia, which would have been its second starring role on the world stage after this winter’s Olympics.
Instead, the G-7 leaders will meet in Brussels without Putin. At the same time, the group said it would not send its foreign ministers to a planned G-8 meeting in Moscow next month.
Though largely symbolic and falling short of new sanctions against Russia, the statement from the G-7 leaders pledged that they “remain ready” to intensify sanctions if Russia takes further action in Ukraine.
“This group came together because of shared beliefs and shared responsibilities. Russia’s actions in recent weeks are not consistent with them,” the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States said in what they called “The Hague Declaration.”
The president of the European Council and the president of the European Commission also signed the statement.
The leaders met at Obama’s urging at The Hague while attending a nuclear security summit.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters that Russia’s expulsion from the G-8 would be no “great tragedy,” Voice of Russia reported.
“If our Western partners think that this format has outlived itself, then so be it,” Lavrov told reporters after holding his first talks since the annexation with Andriy Deshchytsya, Ukraine’s interim foreign minister.
“At the very least, we are not trying to hold on to this format, and we see no great tragedy if it (the G-8) does not meet,” said Lavrov, who also met separately with Secretary of State John Kerry.
The move is symbolic but still important, Michael McFaul, a Stanford University-based Russia specialist who until recently was U.S. ambassador to Moscow, told reporters on a conference call.
McFaul said he believes Putin understands that he’s growing isolated and is bracing for a possible military engagement with NATO forces at some point.
“Right now I think he’s focused on consolidating and digging in for confrontation with the West,” McFaul said. “They fully expect it and that’s what they’re doing.”
The U.S. last week expanded a round of economic sanctions against Putin’s allies, but Obama is under pressure on the trip to convince European allies to step up their response.
- MCT Campus