McCain and Lieberman Move to Freeze Russia Out of the G8

Two senior US senators, Joe Lieberman and John McCain, introduced a Senate resolution on 18 February 2005 urging President George W. Bush to suspend Russia from the Group of Eight. The move came days before a scheduled meeting between Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Bratislava.

Both senators had previously run for the presidency: McCain in the 2000 Republican primary and Lieberman in the 2004 Democratic race. Their resolution framed Russia's G8 membership as incompatible with the bloc's democratic standards.

McCain argued that Russia had reversed course since 2003, citing the Kremlin's elimination of direct gubernatorial elections across Russia's 89 regions, restrictions on independent media, and pressure on business executives who challenged the government. "The coup is no longer creeping," he said.

Lieberman called on Washington to speak plainly about democratic erosion in Russia, arguing that the United States had an obligation to those who look to it as a model of free governance.

Russia at the time held membership alongside the United States, Britain, Canada, Japan, France, Italy, and Germany.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in February 2005, in its own words.