Lavrov Calls G8 An 'Informal Club' After Merkel remarks

More than a year after Russia was suspended from the G8 bloc of nations over Crimea’s annexation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the group an “informal club” and that Russia was not actually expelled, in a seeming response to German Chancellor Angela Merkel's comments about Russia's future involvement in the group.

“The G8 is an informal club, no one gives out membership cards and no one can expel members,” Lavrov said, according to Sputnik News, in an apparent response to Merkel's comments in the German parliament Thursday.