- Russia’s foreign minister rejects “frantic” criticism of the war
- Lavrov leaves during the virtual speech of the Minister of Ukraine
- Indonesia warns that food prices will further affect low-income nations
- UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss is interrupting the trip to Bali
NUSA DUA, Indonesia, July 8 (Reuters) – The G20 host, Indonesia, on Friday urged the group’s foreign ministers to help end the war in Ukraine, as Russia’s top diplomat goes accuse the West of erasing the opportunity to address global economic problems with critical “frenzy” to the conflict.
The G20 ministerial meeting in Bali has been overshadowed by the war and its impact on the global economy, with senior officials from Western countries and Japan stressing that it would not be an event “as always”.
Shouts of “When will you stop the war” and “Why don’t you stop the war” were heard as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shook hands with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi as he arrived at the meeting.
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Lavrov said that the ministers of Western nations “deviated almost immediately, as soon as they took the floor, in the face of frantic criticism from the Russian Federation regarding the situation in Ukraine.”
“Aggressors,” “invaders,” “occupiers”: We heard a lot today, “Lavrov told reporters after the first session of talks, in which he sat between representatives of Mexico and Saudi Arabia.
Russia has maintained that it has launched a “special military operation” to degrade the Ukrainian army and eliminate people it calls dangerous nationalists.
Ukraine and its Western supporters say Russia is involved in an imperial-style land grab. They say Russia has no justification for the invasion.
Retno had called on the G20 to “find a way forward” to address global challenges and said the repercussions of the war, including rising energy and food prices, would further affect low-income countries. .
“It is our responsibility to end the war sooner rather than later and resolve our differences at the negotiating table, not on the battlefield,” Retno said at the opening of the talks.
Challenges related to rising food and energy costs had been “dramatically burdened by Russian aggression against Ukraine,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on the sidelines of the meeting.
During the plenary meeting, Blinken confronted Russia for blocking the export of Ukrainian grain and stealing it, a Western official said.
“He went straight to Russia, saying, ‘To our Russian colleagues: Ukraine is not your country. Its grain is not your grain. Why are you blocking ports? You should let the grain out,'” he said. officials.
Lavrov was not in the room at the time, the official said.
Ukraine has struggled to export goods, with many of its ports blocked due to the war along its southern coast. It is the fourth largest exporter of cereals in the world.
Lavrov later told reporters that Russia was willing to negotiate with Ukraine and Turkey on the grain, but it is unclear when such talks could take place.
‘NEW COLD WAR’
Ukraine’s foreign minister addressed the meeting virtually, with Lavrov leaving the room during his speech, Ukraine’s ambassador to Indonesia said.
Underlining tensions during the pre-meeting period, Retno said G7 counterparts had informed him that they could not join Thursday’s welcome dinner where Lavrov was present.
A senior Indonesian Foreign Ministry official told Reuters that no statement was expected from Friday’s meeting.
Retno had said it was important for the host to “create a comfortable atmosphere for everyone,” noting that it was the first time since the invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 that all major players were sitting in the same room. .
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that on the sidelines of the meeting, Beijing opposed any act of exaltation of the clash between blocs and the creation of a “new Cold War.” .
Friday’s agenda includes a closed-door meeting of key diplomats from G20 countries such as China, India, the United States, Brazil, Canada, Japan and South Africa, as well as bilateral talks at the margin.
For the first time in three years, the foreign ministers of China and Australia will also hold talks on Friday, indicating a thaw in relations that has been exacerbated by claims of foreign interference and trade sanctions in retaliation. . Read more
At Friday’s events was not the British Secretary of State, Liz Truss, who was represented by Tim Barrow, the second permanent Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Truss had interrupted his trip to Bali following the resignation of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, according to media reports.
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Additional reports from Ryan Woo in Beijing, Kirsty Needham in Sydney and Yuddy Cahya Budiman in Nusa Dua; Written by Kate Lamb; Editing by Martin Petty, Ed Davies and Raju Gopalakrishnan
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