KANANASKIS, Alberta: Group of Seven leaders met on Monday (Jun 16) seeking a common approach on wars in Ukraine and the Middle East but faced early challenges as US President Donald Trump said removing Russia from the former Group of Eight over a decade ago had been a mistake.

The once tight-knit grouping has struggled to find unity as Washington retreats from multilateralism and Trump overtly expresses support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

G7 leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the US, along with the European Union, are convening in the resort area of Kananaskis in the Canadian Rockies until Tuesday.

Speaking alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump said the former Group of Eight had been wrong to kick out Russia in 2014 after it annexed Crimea.

"This was a big mistake," Trump said, adding he believed Russia would not have invaded Ukraine in 2022 had Putin not been ejected.

"Putin speaks to me. He doesn't speak to anybody else ... he's not a happy person about it. I can tell you that he basically doesn't even speak to the people that threw him out, and I agree with him," Trump said.

Though Trump stopped short of saying Russia should be reinstated in the group, his comments raise doubts about how much Ukrainian Preside...