Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday that Russia should not be allowed to be part of the Group of Seven (G7) as long as Vladimir Putin holds power in the country.
"I don't think Russia under Vladimir Putin belongs in the G7. Period," Harper said in an exclusive interview with the Associated Press. Harper's statement came ahead of his trips to Ukraine and Germany, where he will attend a G7 meeting on Sunday.
"Canada would very, very strongly oppose Putin ever sitting around that table again. It would require consensus to bring Russia back and that consensus will just not happen," he said.
Harper, known for his vocal criticism of Putin, expressed his displeasure over the Russian President's aggression in eastern Ukraine.
"The mindset of the guy we are dealing with is that the Cold War has never ended and 'I've got to fight to change the ending somehow.' I don't think there is any way under this leader Russia will ever change," Harper told AP.
The Group of Seven (G7) suspended Russia following its illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimea last year. However, the international grouping of industrialized countries has not ruled out the possibility of a Russian readmission.
"Whether it takes five months or 50 years, this country and the Western world -- the free world -- will never recognize the occupation of Crimea or any other Ukrainian soil by Russia -- never," Harper said at an event in Toronto recently, according to Canadian Press.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is hosting this year's G7 meeting, agreed with Harper, saying that there is no quick road back to the grouping for Russia under Putin, DW reported.
"Russian participation at the moment is inconceivable. The G7 is a group of states that share values like democracy and the rule of law... By contrast, Russia's annexation of the Crimea was an infringement of international law," Merkel said in an interview with the DPA news agency.
Kremlin responded to Harper's remarks, saying that Canadian Prime Minister's statement is non constructive, Russia Beyond Headlines reported.
