By John Irish, Jarrett Renshaw and Andreas Rinke KANANASKIS, Alberta (Reuters) -Group of Seven leaders faced early challenges during meetings in Canada on Monday as U.S. President Donald Trump said removing Russia from the former Group of Eight over a decade ago had been a mistake.

Russia was once in the exclusive club of major economies but was kicked out following its 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

Trump has long said he would like to see the G7 return to a G8 format, bringing Moscow back into the fold as it was before Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. “This was a big mistake. You wouldn’t have that war,

By Andrew Osborn and Alexander Marrow (Reuters) -Russian leader Vladimir Putin told Iran's president over the phone on Friday that Moscow condemned Israeli actions against Tehran, and in a separate telephone conversation told Israel's prime minister that only diplomacy could resolve issues around Iran's nuclear programme.

When Israel first started bombing Iran, many in Russia saw it as an opportunity, a means of drawing support and attention away from Ukraine.

Israel launched a wave of strikes last Friday against Iran's nuclear sites and military leadership, and Iran has responded by firing missiles at Israeli cities. "The potential dangerous consequences of strikes on nuclear infrastructure facilities are obvious to everyone.