Tillerson Says About Conditions for Russia's Return to G8

© AP Photo / Sergey PonomarevNational flags of the G8 countries and the flag of the European Union fly near a logo of the G-8 summit in St. Petersburg, Thursday, July 13, 2006
National flags of the G8 countries and the flag of the European Union fly near a logo of the G-8 summit in St. Petersburg, Thursday, July 13, 2006 - Sputnik International
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US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters Wednesday about what is needed for Russia to rejoin the Group of 8 (G8) which is now the G7 as Moscow is no longer part of the informal group.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The Group of 7 — an intergovernmental forum of the world’s largest industrialized democracies — began meeting in 1975. It became the Group of 8 after Russia joined in 1997, but reverted to the G7 format after the other nations voted to suspend Russia’s participation after Crimea, a former Ukrainian region, rejoined Russia as a result of a referendum in 2014, which has not been recognized by Kiev and a number of Western countries.

"[Russia was] eliminated or taken out of the group due to the situation in Ukraine, so for them to rejoin they are going to have to address the situation in Ukraine," Tillerson said en route to Brussels as quoted in a pool report. "We have been pretty clear with them what that means, it means moving forward with the Minsk accord and restoring Ukraine sovereignty."

US President Donald Trump arrives for a meeting with Italy's President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Presidential Palace in Rome - Sputnik International
Trump 'Reaffirms Transatlantic Unity in Holding Russia Accountable' Over Ukraine
The US, EU and other allies introduced several rounds of sanctions against Russia related to the conflict in Ukraine and Crimean reunification, claiming Moscow has interfered in Ukraine’s internal affairs. Moscow has repeatedly denied the accusations.

On February 14, the White House spokesman said that US President Donald Trump expects Russia to "return Crimea" to Ukraine. Later, Trump reaffirmed this stance, suggesDuring the election campaign Trump claimed he would "consider" recognizing Crimea as part of Russia following the referendum in the peninsula, adding that the Crimeans wanted to live in Russia.

Commenting on the White House statement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russia does not intend to return Crimea to Kiev as it is Russian territory. The Kremlin said that Russia does not discuss issues related to its territory with foreign partners.

Crimea rejoined Russia after a 2014 referendum, when almost 97 percent of the region's population voted for the reunification. Sevastopol, which has a federal city status, supported the move by 95.6 percent of votes.

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