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.

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.

The Kremlin responded on Tuesday. “We agree with President Trump: it was a big mistake then to exclude Russia from the G8 format,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.