Russia did not ask anyone to initiate the discussion on reviving the G8 framework, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
"We did not ask anyone [to raise the issue]," TASS cited him as saying. "We learned about that from public statements made by some of our Western counterparts. We did not reach out to anyone on the matter and are not going to do so," the Russian diplomat noted.
He recalled that Russia was involved in the activities of other associations, such as BRICS, the SCO, the post-Soviet integration associations, the G20 and the UN.
The minister stressed that the G20 was more important for Russia than the G8 framework. "If we take global economy, global politics or financial policies, the core issues are tackled at the G20, which includes all G7 members and all BRICS members. Our positions in the G20 are determined by those approaches that are coordinated in the BRICS association," he noted
At the same time, Lavrov said that Russia did not shy away from contacts with the G7 member-countries.
