Talk at the Hague

THERE is some confusion about next week’s meeting of the G7 Group of leading industrial nations at The Hague. Is it the old G7 or the new G8 ,which included Russia, but minus one? And , anyway, why is it meeting when its regular annual gathering is due to take place in June ? That was scheduled for Sochi of Russia’s Winter Olympics fame, although the venue has already been cancelled.

Next week’s meeting is at the request of President Obama who will be in The Hague for a nuclear security summit. Will that be attended by President Putin also? Mr. Obama apparently thought it would be helpful to take the opportunity of meeting with his G7 and EU colleagues to take stock of the Ukraine/Crimea situation. Understandably, given the pace at which events have developed, there has been no multinational discussion at top level although the various leaders have held several bilateral telephone conversations. As a result the West has looked uncertain and even divided in its reaction to President Putin’s policies. There is no guarantee that complete agreement will be reached next week but greater cohesion should result. It may also be worth considering whether it is wise to exclude Russia from the G8 when it could provide the only regular small scale face-to-face forum for President Putin and the West’s leaders to discuss their common interests and differences.