"You know, we spend probably 25 percent of our time talking about Russia and I said wouldn’t it be better if they were here," Trump told FOX News in an interview that aired Wednesday.
Trump added that Russia’s presence would allow easier access to Russian President Vladimir Putin in order to address concerns ranging from Syria to Ukraine.
The leaders of the G7 major advanced economies — the United States, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada — gathered in Quebec for a two-day annual summit on June 8-9. The group used to be called the G8 before Russia's membership was suspended in 2014 after the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis.
Trump left the summit early to attend a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and tweeted later that he had asked US representatives not to endorse the final communique because of the disagreements on trade.