G7

If the West was reconsolidating in the form of the G7, Russia tried a different tack to shore up its international defenses.

It would be a lonely summit if so, for the G7 heads of state have agreed to meet on their own, without Russia, in June.

Since 1998, the G7 had been widened to include Russia—part of a broader effort to embed Russia in a stable international order.

So are we watching the emergence of a G7 versus BRICS world?

Taking center stage in The Hague was the recreation of the G7 as a unified western bloc.