G7 unable to tackle global issues: Russian lawmaker

The Group of Seven (G7) framework that groups the world's leading developed countries is not capable enough to tackle the most pressing issues facing the international community, a committee chief of the Russian parliament said Wednesday.

"The G7 is increasingly working in the format of a close circle rather than making any important decisions," Konstantin Kosachyov, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federation Council, or the upper house of the Russian parliament, said when commenting on the recent G7 summit held in Bavaria, Germany.

The real challenges confronting the international community are clearly not resolved by the bloc, from the global financial crisis over the conflict of civilizations to the threat of the Islamic State, he added.

The world needs a broader mechanism to deal with those thorny issues, he said.

Earlier this week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that neither the G7 nor the G8, which is the G7 plus the participation of Russia, is enough to solve the world's problems, and that Russia would like to work in a more effective mechanism.

The G7 is an association of the world's major industrialized economies, namely Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Japan, the United States and Canada.

The group used to be called the Group of Eight (G8) with Russia's participation. In March 2014, the group voted to suspend Russia's membership because of the country's role in the Crimean crisis, which has led to a prolonged standoff between Moscow and the West. Endi