Leaders scrap June G-8 summit in Russia in protest

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The Hague, Netherlands • A senior diplomat says the Group of Seven major economies has decided to scrap a planned G-8 summit in Russia and meet instead in Brussels to protest Moscow's annexation of Crimea.

The diplomat said Monday that the June summit will only feature the top seven economies — not Russia — using the format the meetings had during the Cold War.

The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the decision's official announcement in a joint statement.

U.S. President Barack Obama met with his counterparts from the other G-7 nations on the sidelines of a summit on nuclear security in the Netherlands to discuss the group's reaction to Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Russia had invited the G-8 group to a summit in its Black Sea resort Sochi in June.