LA MALBAIE, (Canada): President Donald Trump drove the wedge splitting Washington from its Western allies even deeper on Friday with a shock call for Russia to be readmitted to the G7 club of nations.

As the heads of the top industrialized democracies embarked on the two-day G7 summit in rural Quebec, European leaders warned that Trump’s stance on trade, the climate, Iran and — now — Russia sets him apart.

Already angered by Trump’s imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum — and planning to respond with measures of their own that could spiral into a trade war — the allies now fear a rift in the united western front against Russian aggression.

Before jumping on Air Force One to fly to Canada, which is hosting the summit in La Malbaie north of Quebec City, Trump called for a return to the body’s pre-2014 “G8” formula.—AFP