The idea of a trilateral axis on foreign policy issues was proposed by French President
Charles de Gaulle to his British and American counterparts (see
Fouchet Plan). However, that plan was never implemented. Meetings with that goal took place around 1980 between the foreign ministers of these three countries and West Germany, although they were largely symbolic and led to no real decision. The Quint in its current form seems to have begun as the
Contact Group excluding Russia. Nowadays, Quint leaders discuss all major international topics participating in video conferences or meeting one another in various forums such as NATO, the
OSCE, the G20 and the
UN. The Quint meets also at ministerial and experts' level. Quint countries along with
Russia and
China participate together in global discussions as in the
Syrian case, they have joint statements and meetings as in the case of
Lebanon. ==Current government leaders==