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| Group of 7 Condemns Its Absent Partner, Russia | Group of 7 Condemns Its Absent Partner, Russia |
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| BRUSSELS — The leaders of seven major powers on Thursday convened their first summit meeting without Russia in two decades, a stark reflection of the international strains brought on by the crisis in Ukraine. | BRUSSELS — The leaders of seven major powers on Thursday convened their first summit meeting without Russia in two decades, a stark reflection of the international strains brought on by the crisis in Ukraine. |
| President Obama joined his peers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan at the headquarters of the European Council here to discuss energy, development, climate change and economic matters. They met under the name Group of 7, rather than Group of 8, for the first time since the mid-1990s. And along the way, they discussed the member they have kicked out of their club, at least for now. | President Obama joined his peers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan at the headquarters of the European Council here to discuss energy, development, climate change and economic matters. They met under the name Group of 7, rather than Group of 8, for the first time since the mid-1990s. And along the way, they discussed the member they have kicked out of their club, at least for now. |
| After a long dinner Wednesday night in advance of the formal meeting, the seven leaders released a joint statement repeating their condemnation of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and calling on Moscow to use its influence to stop the pro-Russian separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. They were less clear about their own intended actions. | After a long dinner Wednesday night in advance of the formal meeting, the seven leaders released a joint statement repeating their condemnation of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and calling on Moscow to use its influence to stop the pro-Russian separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. They were less clear about their own intended actions. |
| “We are united in condemning the Russian Federation’s continuing violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” the joint statement said. “Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, and actions to destabilize eastern Ukraine are unacceptable and must stop. These actions violate fundamental principles of international law and should be a concern for all nations.” | “We are united in condemning the Russian Federation’s continuing violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” the joint statement said. “Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, and actions to destabilize eastern Ukraine are unacceptable and must stop. These actions violate fundamental principles of international law and should be a concern for all nations.” |
| The statement went on to say: “We urge the Russian Federation to recognize the results of the election, complete the withdrawal of its military forces on the border with Ukraine, stop the flow of weapons and militants across the border and to exercise its influence among armed separatists to lay down their weapons and renounce violence.” | The statement went on to say: “We urge the Russian Federation to recognize the results of the election, complete the withdrawal of its military forces on the border with Ukraine, stop the flow of weapons and militants across the border and to exercise its influence among armed separatists to lay down their weapons and renounce violence.” |
| The statement threatened further steps in response to Russian provocation, but in vague terms, reflecting a disagreement among the seven over how to proceed. “We stand ready to intensify targeted sanctions and to implement significant additional restrictive measures to impose further costs on Russia should events so require,” it said. | The statement threatened further steps in response to Russian provocation, but in vague terms, reflecting a disagreement among the seven over how to proceed. “We stand ready to intensify targeted sanctions and to implement significant additional restrictive measures to impose further costs on Russia should events so require,” it said. |
| And while the group agreed to suspend Russia, which was originally supposed to host this year’s summit meeting in Sochi, three of the seven leaders — President François Hollande of France, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain — went ahead and scheduled separate meetings with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Mr. Hollande, in fact, will host Mr. Putin for a light supper in Paris on Thursday night, just after he takes Mr. Obama to dinner at a Paris restaurant. | And while the group agreed to suspend Russia, which was originally supposed to host this year’s summit meeting in Sochi, three of the seven leaders — President François Hollande of France, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain — went ahead and scheduled separate meetings with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Mr. Hollande, in fact, will host Mr. Putin for a light supper in Paris on Thursday night, just after he takes Mr. Obama to dinner at a Paris restaurant. |
| These summit meetings trace their history to 1975, when leaders of the major industrial democracies — United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan — inaugurated the Group of 6 to discuss the pressing economic issues of the day. Canada joined two years later, making it the Group of 7, and the European Commission has attended the meetings as an observer since then. But it is a club with no actual organization, just a rotation of host countries, and over time the agenda broadened well beyond economics to cover all sorts of global issues. | These summit meetings trace their history to 1975, when leaders of the major industrial democracies — United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan — inaugurated the Group of 6 to discuss the pressing economic issues of the day. Canada joined two years later, making it the Group of 7, and the European Commission has attended the meetings as an observer since then. But it is a club with no actual organization, just a rotation of host countries, and over time the agenda broadened well beyond economics to cover all sorts of global issues. |
| Boris Yeltsin began attending the summit meetings as Russia's president in 1993, seeking help for his country as it emerged from the Soviet Union and the Cold War. By 1994, he was being described as a "participant," and in 1997, when President Bill Clinton was trying to anchor Russia in the international order, he included Mr. Yeltsin in nearly all of the group’s meetings, held that year in Denver. Russia was officially inducted as the eighth member in 1998; its first turn to host a summit meeting came in 2006, when Mr. Putin brought his counterparts to a gleaming palace he had restored outside St. Petersburg. | |
| More recently, leaders of countries like China, Brazil and Mexico began attending as observers, to the point that at the 2009 summit meeting in Italy, the first one that Mr. Obama attended, 40 countries were represented, accounting for 90 percent of the world economy. The Italians spent $75 million to create an Olympic-style village for the meeting, and 3,700 journalists were on hand. | More recently, leaders of countries like China, Brazil and Mexico began attending as observers, to the point that at the 2009 summit meeting in Italy, the first one that Mr. Obama attended, 40 countries were represented, accounting for 90 percent of the world economy. The Italians spent $75 million to create an Olympic-style village for the meeting, and 3,700 journalists were on hand. |
| Mr. Obama, who is not a fan of big multilateral meetings, has tried shifting emphasis away from the Group of 8, on the theory that it would be better to focus on the newly assertive and more inclusive Group of 20, which includes a broader range of countries. But instead of absorbing or replacing the Group of 8 meetings, the Group of 20 merely added another international summit meeting to the president’s annual schedule of obligatory trips. | Mr. Obama, who is not a fan of big multilateral meetings, has tried shifting emphasis away from the Group of 8, on the theory that it would be better to focus on the newly assertive and more inclusive Group of 20, which includes a broader range of countries. But instead of absorbing or replacing the Group of 8 meetings, the Group of 20 merely added another international summit meeting to the president’s annual schedule of obligatory trips. |
| The rupture over Ukraine transformed this year’s meeting. The usual observers and hangers-on are absent, and so is any overarching joint project. The leaders are using existing facilities, and the agenda, while ostensibly covering issues like energy and climate, boiled down to the question of their suspended partner, and what to do about Ukraine. | The rupture over Ukraine transformed this year’s meeting. The usual observers and hangers-on are absent, and so is any overarching joint project. The leaders are using existing facilities, and the agenda, while ostensibly covering issues like energy and climate, boiled down to the question of their suspended partner, and what to do about Ukraine. |