Germany: G7 to mull Russia’s return if progress in Syria, Ukraine

MOSCOW, Aug 31 (PRIME) -- G7 participants are ready to discuss Russia’s return to G8 in case a progress on the Syrian and Ukrainian conflicts is reached, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in an interview with local media.

“The conflicts in Syria and Ukraine show that it is not in our interest to exclude Russia from a close negotiation format of the world’s biggest economies… If there is at last a significant progress in eastern Ukraine or in the talks on a ceasefire in Syria, G7 partners will be ready to discuss this with Moscow,” he said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier that Moscow will not take any steps to return to G8.

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