World leaders met Russian President Vladimir Putin was kept out of Wednesday's summit of major economies over his actions in Ukraine, yet world leaders appeared eager to seek his renewed cooperation to settle the crisis, according to Reuters.
"At this stage we consider that we have some possibilities, diplomatic and political, to see if Russia is ready to engage more and to stop the destabilization in Ukraine," said European Union President Herman Van Rompuy, the summit's host, Reuters reported.
Since Russia refrained from a full-out invasion of Ukraine, started pulling back its troops from the border and reluctantly accepted the results of Ukraine's presidential election, Western leaders apparently no longer want to talk about imposing new sanctions, but sought to renew diplomatic contacts, according to Reuters.
French President Francois Hollande, British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are all planning talks with Putin during ceremonies for the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion later this week, Reuters reported. President Barack Obama has no plans to meet with Putin.
The U.S. and its most important allies retaliated for Putin's military occupation and subsequent annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March by suspending Russia's membership in what had been the G-8 club of rich countries, according to Reuters. They also nixed Putin's plan to hold the meeting in Sochi, the city Russia lavished billions on to host the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The G-7 members are also aware that they can't fully alienate Putin because they need his support to manage other global security concerns like Syria, Iran and Afghanistan, but their positions on Russia diverge significantly, Reuters reported.
"The Group of Seven has stood together very well over the past weeks on this issue we are discussing tonight; the question of Ukraine and Russia," Merkel said, according to Reuters.
The leaders have agreed to discuss how to further support Ukraine and renew dialogue with Russia, while making it clear that the threat of sanctions remains on the table, Merkel added, Reuters reported. On Thursday, the G-7 will discuss the world economy, energy and climate policy and development.
