Tuesday March 25, 2014
By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday March 25, 2014
G7 leaders agree to abandon Sochi summit, will hold June meeting in Brussels
G7 Leaders agreed Monday to hold their own summit in Brussels, abandoning plans for a scheduled G8 summit with Russia in Sochi amid political turmoil in Ukraine.
In a joint statement, Western nations and Japan said it will “suspend” its participation in the G8 until Russia “changes course,” and that they will meet in G7 “format” for the summit in Brussels.
The decision comes as G7 leaders held an emergency session in The Hague to discuss what to do about Russia in light of the ongoing crisis in eastern Europe.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper urged his G7 counterparts to expel Russian President Vladimir Putin from the G8 due Russia’s recent annexation of Crimea and its aggression toward Ukraine.
Earlier, Harper said discussions on Russia will have to be made a priority over economic concerns.
Harper and his fellow G7 leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama, gathered at the official residence of the Dutch Prime Minister.
A Russia-European summit that was scheduled for June 3 in Sochi was previously cancelled. (Source: CTV News)
CONTEXT – U.S. President Ronald Reagan at the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, West Germany, June 12, 1987:
By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator –
