BIARRITZ /France/, August 25. /TASS/. Relations with Russia were among the topics that were discussed by the Group of Seven leaders at their summit in the French resort city of Biarritz relations but no accord was reached on possible extension of the format and Russia’s readmission, a diplomatic source in the EU institutions told TASS on Sunday.

"I can confirm that this topic was discussed in detail at the dinner on Saturday. But so far there is no accord on Russia’s possible return to the organization," he said.

A European source told TASS in Brussels that the Group of Seven was now interested in Russia’s return to the club due to the toughening political competition with the Group of Twenty, where Russia was playing a significant role.

Thus, in his words, the G7 nations’ aggregate GDP has dropped from 50 to 30% of the global GDP in the past 30 years. Moreover, population of the G7 nations accounts for mere ten percent of the global population. Secondly, according to the diplomat, the Group of Seven, which has been referring to itself as an "alliance of democracies," has been demonstrating violent disagreement between its member nations. And, last but not least, the G7 countries’ conflict with Russia has stiffened competition with the G20 format.

US President Donald Trump told reporters on August 20 that "it’s much more appropriate to have Russia in" [the G8]. However, a source in Brussels told TASS on Thursday the European Union is against Russia’s return to the G7 until the Minsk agreements are ultimately implemented.

The Group of Seven (G7), an informal bloc of countries with the world’s largest economies, has been existing since 1976 to bring together the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Canada, the United States, France and Japan. In 1997, it was renamed the Group of Eight (G8) after Russia joined the club. In 2014, Western countries decided to return to the G7 format in the wake of the developments in Ukraine and the deterioration of relations with Russia.