Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has criticized what he called “crazy” nuclear threats made by Russia in recent months and told leaders of the G20, the group of the world’s most developed economies, that now is the time to end the “destructive war” launched by the Kremlin against your country more than eight months ago.
Leaders of the world’s major economies gather for the G20 meeting, which began at 10 pm on Monday (9 am on Tuesday local time) in Bali, Indonesia. According to the host country’s president, Joko Widodo, the summit aims to discuss “economy and development”.
The Ukrainian War, which has lasted for more than eight months, is expected to be one of the main topics of debate. The economic crises triggered by the conflict, such as the increase in energy costs and inflation, will also be discussed. No wonder the meeting is considered one of the most important in the history of the organization.
“I am convinced that now is the time when Russia’s destructive war must and can end,” Zelensky, wearing his usual green attire, said in one of the first speeches at the event. Although Ukraine is not part of the G20, the Ukrainian president was invited to the summit — he participated by videoconference.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was also expected, but the sequence of military setbacks in Ukraine and the uneasy presence among a largely anti-war audience made him withdraw from attending. He is represented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who in July walked out of a meeting of the same G20 after being ignored by politicians at the event.
Regarding the nuclear threats made by Russia during the conflict, Zelensky said that “there is not and cannot be any excuse for this type of blackmail”.
The day before, the president joined the celebrations for the retaking of the Ukrainian city of Kherson after eight months of Russian occupation. The site had been taken over by the enemy army at the beginning of the war, and it is the capital of one of the four regions recently annexed by Vladimir Putin to his territory through referendums considered illegal by the West.
The withdrawal of Russian troops from the region is considered one of Moscow’s most symbolic defeats in its nearly nine-month military campaign against its neighbour.
With Russia’s war against Ukraine in the background, US President Joe Biden and China’s leader Xi Jinping met for the first time on Monday (14), on the sidelines of the summit. Although the leaders have been together before, especially when the Democrat was Barack Obama’s deputy (2009-2017), with him in power there were only videoconferences – and some of the five conversations had a harsh tone.
On the way out of the three-hour conversation, Biden tried to set the tone. “I absolutely believe there doesn’t need to be a new Cold War,” he said. “We will compete vigorously. But I’m not looking for conflict, this competition must be handled responsibly.”
Later communiqués from both sides spoke of keeping a direct line of communication open in an effort to defuse tensions. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to go to Beijing in the coming weeks, and dialogue mechanisms on issues involving the climate emergency and finance – suspended after the extemporaneous trip of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei – will resume.
At another point of convergence, the two leaders reiterated that a nuclear war should never be fought, in direct reference to recent threats from Moscow, agreeing that such weapons cannot be used in the Ukrainian War.
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