EXPLAINER: G7 provides forum for like-minded democracies

ELMAU, Germany (AP) — In 1975, leaders of the world’s wealthy democracies gathered outside Paris to deal with an energy crisis sparked by a war and rampant inflation. Those same sore points are bedeviling their successors at this week’s Group of Seven summit in Germany. As Russia wages war in Ukraine, high consumer and energy prices are threatening to trigger recessions in the U.S. and Europe. The leaders are searching for ways to support Ukraine and curb Russia’s ability to fund the war without worsening the economic impact on their own countries. The G-7 members are: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. European Union officials also attend the group’s summits.