Kristi Raik, director of EFPI of ICDS, told to Vikerraadio that G7 meeting in France was an opportunity for president Emmanuel Macron to position himself as the most active and ambitious leader in Europe.
Reducing inequality was chosen as a key topic of the Summit because of its importance for Macron, both regarding the global dimension, issues such as migration and Europe’s relations with Africa, and for domestic political reasons.
Commenting on the question of Russia’s return to G7, Raik recalled that Russia became a member of the group in 1998 when there were hopes that Western countries could support Russia’s democratization. Today there are no such hopes and there is no good reason to include Russia in a group that otherwise consists of Western democracies.
Listen to the full interview in Estonian on Vikerraadio.