"To overcome sanctions we need to implement the Minsk agreement, and we need to make any efforts to implement this agreement. I hope that G7 in Taormina is the last G7, and the next [will be] G8," Alfano stated.
The G7, consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, was joined by Russia in 1998. Moscow's accession to the group of major economies turned the G7 into the Group of Eight (G8).
In 2014, the G8 members refused to come to the Russian southwestern city of Sochi, venue of the G8 regular summit, citing disagreements over the Ukrainian crisis, and have been meeting in the seven-state format since then.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has repeatedly said that Moscow does not intend to take any steps to get back to the G8 group. In January, Peskov said that the issue of restoration of the G8 format with Russia’s participation is not under discussion in Moscow and Russia prioritizes work in the G20 format.
