“Now, I love our country. I have been Russia’s worst nightmare … But with that being said, Russia should be in this meeting,” Trump said Friday as he left the White House. “It may not be politically correct, but we have a world to run. … They should let Russia back in.”

Trump’s comments, made as he was departing for the annual G-7 summit in Canada, have the potential to further upend talks with other leaders here. U.S. intelligence officials believe Russia interfered in the 2016 election, and part of this year’s G-7 summit was supposed to focus on protecting democracies from foreign meddling.

Trump has sought to improve relations between the United States and Russia since taking office.