By Christian Kraemer, Maria Martinez and Christine Uyanik
BERLIN (Reuters) – Russia will not be readmitted into the Group of Seven nations as U.S. president Donald Trump has requested, German Finance Minister Joerg Kukies told Reuters in an interview.
“The condemnation of the G7 of Russia’s war of aggression is very clear, especially on the third anniversary of Russia’s brutal attack,” Kukies said, adding that Trump’s proposal would not get the unanimity required.
Kukies will travel on Tuesday to Cape Town for the G20 meeting of finance ministers, with the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent staying away due to a scheduling conflict.
The current state of the global economy will be a central topic of the meetings.
“We really need to re-embark on a path of economic growth,” Kukies said. Germany “has a lot of homework to do,” he added.
Kukies was named finance minister by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in November after Scholz’s governing coalition collapsed, and is due to serve until a new government is formed following Sunday’s election, which was won by Friedrich Merz’s conservatives.
A trade war between the U.S. and the EU can be avoided as both sides are willing to negotiate, Kukies said. “No one has an interest in starting a trade war.”
The 27-member EU could be hit especially hard by Trump’s reciprocal tariff plan to raise U.S. import tariff rates to match tariffs and other levies charged by other countries.
Kukies said the EU surplus in goods exported to the United States was almost offset by a U.S. surplus in services exported to Europe.
“If you add up both of the imbalances on the trade side, they net out to quite a reasonably small number,” he said.
Kukies said the G7 could discuss longstanding proposals to use $300 billion of Russian sovereign assets frozen in Europe for the reconstruction of Ukraine, “but the discussions are just starting. It’s probably a bit early to say.”
Sources have told Reuters that Moscow could agree in a future peace deal to using the frozen assets for reconstruction provided that part of the money is spent in parts of Ukraine now controlled by Russian forces.
(Reporting by Christian Kraemer and Maria Martinez; Editing by Peter Graff)
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