G20 US and allies leave meeting as Russian minister speaks

G20, US and allies leave meeting as Russian minister speaks

Several G20 leaders stood and walked out of the G20 Washington meeting as Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov began to speak. Among those who have left the US Treasury Secretary. The Washington Post reports that the Ukrainian delegation, among others, also left the meeting.

The prime minister and finance minister of Kyiv, who were present at the meeting under the Indonesian presidency, had previously spoken about Russia. It was already known yesterday that Yellen would boycott some of the G20 meetings, but it was not clear when she would do so or if she would do so during the Russian delegation’s speeches.

EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni also left the room during the G20 meeting in Washington dedicated to finance ministers and central bankers, when Siluanov joined in, Brussels has learned. During the meeting, Gentiloni welcomed the participation of Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhy Marchenko. The Commissioner also stressed that the EU “strongly condemns the unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine, which violates international law and the Charter of the United Nations and undermines international security and stability”.

“At the G20 plenum in Washington, many of our partners withdrew when Russia wanted to intervene. We are for Ukraine and against Russia’s war of aggression.” This was announced by the President of the ECB, Christine Lagarde, in a tweet.

According to previous knowledge, Economics Minister Daniele Franco remained. The ministers of Germany and Spain also stayed, as did the representative of France. As a member of the troika made up of the country holding the presidency of the Council, its predecessor and successor, Italy also has an institutional responsibility that binds it.

Italy was also among the countries that requested the presence of Ukraine’s Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko at the G20 talks, and initially met with resistance.

No to the politicization of the G20. This was requested by Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov in his distant speech at the Washington meeting. “The G20 was and is above all an economic format,” emphasized Siluanov, who then observed how the rise in prices for energy and agricultural products as a result of the war would hit developing countries and low incomes in particular. “Against all odds, we have never refused to honor our commitments the minister claimed and to respect all treaties. It is evident that the supply of these goods on the international markets is artificially limited, leading to imbalances and a dramatic increase in prices”.