'Millions are dying' because of 'foolish decision' to ban Russia from G8, Trump says

United States President Donald Trump attributed Russia's invasion of Ukraine to its exclusion from the Group of Eight (G8), now the Group of Seven (G7).

Speaking to reporters at a World Cup planning meeting on May 6, Trump said it was a "foolish decision" to ban Russia from the group.

"If they didn't vote Russia out... I think you probably wouldn't have this ridiculous, deadly war... It was a very bad decision," Trump said.

"They threw them out and because of that... millions of people are dying," Trump added, referring to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

When pressed about whether he would invite Russia back to the group, Trump responded that "it's not good timing now," contradicting previous statements.

Earlier this year, Trump said that he would "love" to see Russia readmitted into the G7, calling Russia's expulsion from the group a "mistake."

The G8 became the G7 after Russia was expelled in 2014 for its invasion of Ukraine's Donbas, and subsequent annexation of Crimea.

Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, G7 countries have collectively supported Ukraine, including through the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration program, which aims to provide Kyiv with $50 billion in loans using frozen Russian assets.

Current G7 members include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The European Union is also represented in the group.