A Government of Canada photo showing Canada’s Treasury Secretary Chrystia Freeland (centre) posing with counterparts and central bankers leaving the G20 plenary to protest Russia’s presence at the forum, in Washington, April 20, 2022 (Government of Canada/Handouts)
G20 finance ministers and central bankers, who met on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank meetings on Wednesday, walked out of the plenary session or turned off their screens to protest Russia’s presence.
The Indonesian Presidency had been pressured to expel Moscow from the G20 in response to its invasion of Ukraine. However, she refused in the name of impartiality.
“War is incompatible with cooperation,” said French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire in the opening speech, calling on Russia “to refrain from attending G20 meetings.”
His Russian counterpart Anton Siluanov replied: “The G20 was and remains above all an economic forum”.
This body brings together the world’s twenty major economies, including the United States, Canada, China, India, Brazil, Japan, France and Germany.
Failing to get Moscow expelled, ministers, including US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, decided to boycott the meetings where Russian officials were scheduled to speak.
“This week’s meetings in Washington are designed to support the global economy and Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine poses a serious threat to the global economy,” Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland tweeted.
“Russia should not attend or be involved in these meetings,” she added, also releasing a photo showing Western officials “walking out of the G20 plenum when Russia was about to intervene.”
“Many finance ministers and central bankers, including (…) (Janet) Yellen, left when Russia started talking,” a source close to the US delegation previously confirmed. “Other ministers and governors who were virtual turned off their cameras.”
Also in London it is pointed out that the British representatives have left the room.
However, this incident happened “without disturbing the discussions,” Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Indonesia’s finance minister, assured during a press conference.
G7 ministers also managed to get Ukrainian Finance Minister Serguiy Marchenko to attend the meeting, although Ukraine is not a member of the G20.
– Tribune for Moscow? –
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner on March 31, 2022 in Berlin (POOL / Tobias SCHWARZ)
Conversely, Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner defended Berlin’s desire to attend all meetings, including those in the presence of Russian officials.
“We will not provide Russia with a platform to spread its propaganda and lies,” he told reporters in Washington, where the G20 meeting is being held with some of his counterparts, others have opted for virtual mode.
According to a source close to the German delegation, Mr Lindner has also “vehemently challenged” the positions taken by Russian officials.
This is the first time the G20 big moneymakers have met since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
They parted ways on February 18 in Jakarta, Indonesia, with a promise to coordinate for a “stronger” global recovery. On the contrary, the Russian offensive has clouded the outlook, exacerbated inflation and caused a food crisis.
The Russian minister has weighed in on the sanctions. “Obviously, the sanctions are artificially restricting the market supply, leading to an imbalance and a sharp rise in prices,” he said.
The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, urged the countries to continue working together despite the tensions.
“Members underlined the crucial role of the G20 as the leading forum for economic cooperation,” said the Indonesian minister.
Countries are busy as global growth is threatened: the IMF expects just 3.6% this year and expects a sharper slowdown as war and sanctions worsen.
Before the G20, the IMF and the World Bank had called for the essentials of these meetings not to be forgotten: ensuring food security and implementing the G20’s “common framework” for restructuring the debt of poor countries.
“There have been many discussions about the transparency” of the debt, said Sri Mulyani Indrawati. “Some member countries have called for a more credible, predictable and timely mechanism.”
But the implementation of this framework is slipping because of the low participation of China, the main creditor country of poor countries.