- The Russian head of state plans to attend the next G20 summit in Indonesia
- US and allies considering banning Russia over invasion of Ukraine
- Move could face vetoes from others in the G20, sources say
- China: Russia is an “important member” of the group of large economies
JAKARTA, March 23 – Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to attend the next G20 summit in Indonesia later this year and received valuable backing from Beijing on Wednesday to dismiss suggestions by some members that Russia be expelled from the group could become.
The United States and its Western allies are considering whether Russia should remain in the group of twenty major economies after invading Ukraine, sources involved in the discussions told Reuters.
But any move to exclude Russia would likely be opposed by others in the group, raising the prospect of some countries skipping G20 meetings instead, the sources said. Continue reading
Russia’s ambassador to Indonesia, which currently holds the rotating G20 presidency, said Putin intends to travel to the Indonesian resort island of Bali for November’s G20 summit.
“It will depend on many, many things including the COVID situation improving. So far, his intention is… he wants it,” Ambassador Lyudmila Vorobieva said at a news conference.
Asked about suggestions that Russia could be expelled from the G20, she said it was a forum for discussing economic issues and not a crisis like in Ukraine.
“Of course, excluding Russia from such a forum will not help solve these economic problems. On the contrary, without Russia this would be difficult.”
China, which has not condemned the Russian invasion and has criticized Western sanctions, defended Moscow on Wednesday, calling Russia an “important member” of the G20.
The G20 is a group that needs to find answers to critical questions such as the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.
“No member has the right to exclude another country as a member. The G20 should implement genuine multilateralism, strengthen unity and cooperation,” he said in a press conference.
The Indonesian Foreign Ministry declined to comment on calls for Russia to be excluded from the G20.
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a concert marking the eighth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia March 18, 2022. RIA Novosti Host Photo Agency/Alexander Vilf via REUTERS/File Photo
Continue reading
Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24 sent his troops to Ukraine to demilitarize and denazify the country in what he calls a “military special operation.” Ukraine and the West say Putin has launched an unprovoked war of aggression. Continue reading
“BUSY WITH SOMETHING ELSE”
Russia faces an onslaught of international sanctions led by Western countries aimed at isolating it from the global economy, including being banned from the global SWIFT banking messaging system and restricted by its central bank on trade.
On Tuesday, Poland said it had proposed to US trade officials to replace Russia within the G20 group and the proposal had met with “a positive response”.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said G20 members must decide, but the issue is not a priority now.
“When it comes to the question of how to proceed with the WTO (World Trade Organization) and the G20, it is imperative to discuss this issue with the countries involved and not to decide individually,” said Scholz.
“It is very clear that we are busy with other things than coming together for such meetings. We urgently need a ceasefire.”
Russia’s participation in the G20 will almost certainly be discussed on Thursday when US President Joe Biden meets with allies in Brussels.
“We believe that things cannot continue as usual for Russia in international institutions and in the international community,” Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, told reporters.
A European Union source separately confirmed discussions on Russia’s status at G20 meetings.
“Indonesia has been made very clear that the presence of Russia at upcoming ministerial meetings would be highly problematic for European countries,” the source said, adding that there is no clear procedure for excluding a country.
Indonesia’s deputy central bank governor Dody Budi Waluyo on Monday said Jakarta’s position was neutral and it would use its G20 leadership to try to resolve issues, but Russia had a “strong obligation” to participate and other members could not ban it from doing so.
Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal and Alex Alper in Washington, Marek Strzeleck in Warsaw, Jan Strupczewski in Brussels, Emma Farge in Geneva, Gayatri Suroyo in Jakarta, Andreas Rinke in Berlin and Yew Lun Tian in Beijing Writing from Ed Davies and Balazs Koranyi editors Robert Birsel and Mark Heinrich