Australian PM Morrison accepts Trump’s G7 invitation

Australia will accept an invitation to attend a Group of Seven (G7) nations meeting, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told US President Donald Trump on Tuesday.

Last week, Trump said he will be postponing the G7 summit he had hoped to hold next month until September or later. He also wants to expand the list of invitees to include Australia, Russia, South Korea and India. Trump called Morrison on Tuesday to extend the invitation and it was accepted, Reuters reported, citing a spokesman for the Australian prime minister.

Morrison has teamed up with the US in its tougher stance against China, Australia’s main trading partner, amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Trump also spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday to inform him about the plans to hold an expanded G7 meeting later this year, the Kremlin said.