OREANDA-NEWS. Russian President Vladimir Putin is not opposed to the restoration of the G8 format. At the same time, the head of the Russian state said that the Russian Federation was ready to host members of this club of leaders.

At the Eastern Economic Forum, we talked about the topic of the return of the Russian Federation to the G8. Discussion moderator journalist Sergey Brilev asked Putin if he would go to the next summit if such an invitation was received. "Where?" - said the Russian leader. And he received the answer that the next meeting of the G8 leaders should be held in the United States.

"At one time, the next G8 was supposed to be held in Russia. We are open, if our partners want to come to us, we will be happy", Putin assured. "If everyone wants to restore the G8, please", the president said.

He emphasized: "I think everyone understands today, and French President Emmanuel Macron recently publicly said that the leadership of the West is ending. I can't imagine an effective international organization that works without India and without China". “Therefore, any formats always benefit, it’s always a positive exchange of opinions, even when it is held up to high tones, as I understand it, this time it was in the Seven, it’s still useful”, the Russian leader said. "Therefore, we do not refuse any format of cooperation", he assured.

The G8 summit in 2014 was due to take place in Sochi in June. However, after the events in Ukraine, the leaders of the Seven canceled this meeting. At the end of August this year, the next meeting of the leaders of Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, the USA, France and Japan was held in France. At this summit, the question of the possibility of Russia returning to the format was raised. Earlier, some Western leaders spoke about the possibility of restoring the format.