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.

Summit in Canada that Russia would not have started its ongoing war with Ukraine if it had been allowed back in the group by previous U.S. and world leaders. "The G7 used to be the G8. Barack Obama and a person named Trudeau didn't want to have Russia in,

Before leaving, President Trump joined the other leaders in issuing a statement saying Iran "can never have a nuclear weapon" and calling for a "de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East.