President Donald Trump has put off the Group of Seven (G7) meeting until after the United States election in November, The New Diplomat can confirm.
The postponement is the second in a series with the first having been reportedly triggered by COVID-19 concerns.
“I’m much more inclined to do it sometime after the election,” Trump told reporters at a news briefing. “We were going to do it in September.”
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G7 is an international intergovernmental economic organisation consisting of seven major developed countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The countries are the largest IMF-advanced economies in the world.
The presidency of the G7 rotates annually, and Mr. Trump is this year’s chair.
According to sources, the summit was slated to be held at Camp David in June, and after a tentative plan to postpone the meeting and switch to a virtual conference, Trump had floated in May the idea of doing it in person in the fall.
At the moment, White House sources say Trump has not yet formally invited leaders.
“We haven’t sent out invitations. We’re talking to them,” he said.
The American leader said he also planned to invite several other countries that are not formal members of the Group of Seven.
When asked whether he would invite Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr. Trump said he would do so because Mr. Putin is an “important factor.”
“I certainly would invite him to the meeting. I think he’s an important factor.”
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A new date is yet to be announced for the meeting.
It has also not been determined whether the expanded guest list would include any African nominee.
