A group of top Senate Democrats are warning U.S. President Donald Trump against inviting Russia to rejoin the Group of Seven.
"Russia does not currently possess the democratic institutions nor the economic capacity to rejoin the group," the senators wrote in the letter to Trump.
"Readmitting Putin’s Russia to the G7 would be contrary to our values and a clear abdication of the United States’ responsibilities as the world’s leading democracy," the Hill cited the letter as saying.
The lawmakers stressed that Moscow should not be invited to participate in the G7 until "the Russian government undertakes demonstrable actions to show its willingness to behave responsibly both domestically and abroad."
The letter comes after Trump said earlier this week that he would "certainly" invite Russia to join next year's G7 meeting. The United States will serve as host of next year's annual gathering of world leaders, giving Trump the ability to invite heads of state who are not part of the G7.
