The House Passes Resolution Against Russia's Return To G7

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday voted against reintroducing Russia to the G7.

What Happened

The House voted 339 to 71 in favor of the resolution proposed by Democrat Albio Reis, the Representative for New Jersey’s eighth congressional district.

All Democrats voted in favor of the resolution, while the Republicans were divided at 116 to 71 in support of the motion.

Reis proposed that Russia shouldn’t be included in any G7 summits, let alone inviting it to be a member again.

“We cannot allow Russia to be involved in the G-7 while it still illegally occupies parts of Eastern Ukraine, commits numerous humans’ rights abuses, and disregards the sovereignty of democratic states,” Reis said on Twitter after the House accepted his resolution.

Trump Supports Russian Inclusion

President Donald Trump suggested in August that Russia should be allowed to rejoin the G7, the National Public Radio reported at the time.

"I think it's much more appropriate to have Russia in," Trump said at the time. "It should be the G-8 because a lot of the things we talk about have to do with Russia."

The French president Emmanuel Macron reportedly agreed with Trump to invite Russia to be a guest at the G7 summit in 2020, during this year’s summit in August.

The Russian Federation was initially a member of the group — called the Group of Eight or G8 — until 2014. The country was temporarily suspended through a vote by other members for its annexation of Ukrainian territories, including the Crimean Peninsula and Sevastopol.

Russia decided to leave the group permanently in 2017.