ROME, May 29. /TASS/. The G7 cannot preserve its leading role in the world without full global cooperation, as well as Russia’s and China’s participation given the UN’s weak position, Italy’s ex-Prime Minister and former President of the European Commission Romano Prodi said today in an interview published in the Italian newspaper Il Messagero today, analyzing the outcome of the summit held in Taormina.

"Global changes have led to a transformation of these meetings [G7]. The absence of China and Russia and the lack of total global coordination complicate the issue. To this, throw in the temporary weakness of the UN and of all organizations that strive to lead the global processes. The world is rather fragmented, and in this situation, the Group of Seven cannot be its leader," Prodi said.

"For years we’ve been saying that the G7 or the G8 - I’ve taken part in 10 summits - serves more as a discussion platform than for solving issues. The current news is this issue has not been tackled yet as well," the politician said.

According to Prodi, all the accepted schemes were shattered by US President Donald Trump, who demonstrated "complete consistency in his election campaign."

Prodi also believes that the problem is not in Europe’s fragmentation at the summit (Italy, Germany, France and the UK), but in its secondary role. The former prime minister believes that the recent summit must push Europe to work more on its own policy.

"Trump at least does not give much ground for optimism. Despite not intending to do so, he is rousing European patriotism," the politician concluded.