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.

There were some awkward moments during their Oval Office meeting in May, when Carney pushed back on Trump’s remarks about making Canada the 51st US state. But in Canada, the PM was praised for how he handled that high-stakes meeting.

KANANASKIS, Alberta (Reuters) -Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Group of Seven meeting in Canada on Monday as Tokyo urges Washington to drop import auto tariffs that threaten to slow Japan's economy, the Japanese government said.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he exercised his role as G7 chair in cutting reporter questions to President Donald Trump short before the summit began.

Donald Trump said it was a “big mistake” to exclude Russia from G7 summits as he used his opening remarks of the meeting in Canada’s Rocky Mountains to lament the group’s treatment of Moscow.

Former US Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder reacts to President Trump’s comments at the G7 and talks with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer about the challenges leaders will face during the summit.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada, as Tokyo urges Washington to drop auto import tariffs that threaten to hobble its economy.

Canadian PM Mark Carney welcomes G7 leaders in Alberta, kicking off the summit with a group photo and opening session focused on the global economic outlook