The United States and its Western allies made Friday’s G20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia, an opportunity to increase pressure on Russia to end the Ukrainian War.
Initially planned to discuss post-pandemic economic recovery, the meeting was dominated by discussions about the conflict in Eastern Europe. Even the traditional group photo of the leaders present was cancelled.
The meeting, the initial stage of the summit of heads of state and government of rich countries that will take place in November on the Indonesian island, is also the first public event since the beginning of the war in which the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov — a face-to-face meeting between the two, however, has yet to take place.
“What we hear today is a great chorus from all over the world, not just the US, about the need to end aggression,” Blinken told reporters.
In Lavrov’s presence, Indonesian Chancellor Retno Marsudi joined in with his American counterpart. “It is our responsibility to end the war as quickly as possible and resolve our differences at the negotiating table, not on the battlefield.”
The head of American diplomacy met with ministers from France, Germany and the United Kingdom to talk about the war. Blinken denounced Russia’s responsibility in the world food crisis and asked Moscow to authorize the outflow of grain from Ukraine. “To our Russian colleagues: Ukraine is not your country. Their grain is not your grain. Why are you blocking ports?”
The message to unnamed “Russian colleagues” is part of the kind of boycott that Blinken has imposed on Kremlin representatives. The American refused to have a meeting with Lavrov. The last conversation between the two was in Switzerland in January, where the Washington diplomat warned Russia of the serious consequences against Moscow in the event of an invasion of Ukraine – a scenario hitherto hypothetical that would come to fruition just over a month after the meeting. .
Sharp as usual, Lavrov said that Russia will not take the initiative to approach Washington. “We weren’t the ones who abandoned the contacts, it was the US. We’re not going to run after anyone to suggest meetings.”
The Russian also criticized the fact that Western countries use the G20 to criticize their country and not to address the planet’s major problems. “Our Western partners are trying to avoid talking about world economic issues. From the moment they speak, they present an unbridled criticism of Russia about the situation in Ukraine and call us aggressors and innovators.”
Part of the western countries, the USA at the forefront, has asked that Russia be excluded from international forums. Indonesia, however, eager to maintain a position of neutrality as the host country of the G20, confirmed the invitation to the chancellors of Russia and Ukraine.
Lavrov, however, left the room when Dmitro Kuleba, his Ukrainian counterpart, addressed the other ministers. The Russian repeated the act of protest when German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock criticized Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and was also absent when Blinken criticized Moscow’s offensive.
For Baerbock, leaving the scene Lavrov demonstrates that “he is not interested in international cooperation or in dialogue with other partners”.
