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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will call on G20 members to pressure Russia to support United Nations efforts to reopen sea lanes blocked by the conflict in Ukraine.
During the G20 meeting, Blinken is also expected to repeat the warnings to China not to support Moscow in the war against Ukraine.
Blinken left on July 6 for Asia to attend the July 8 G20 meeting in Bali. He is expected to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, but no meeting is expected with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Ramin Toloui, assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs, told reporters that Blinken will raise the issue of energy security and UN initiatives to unblock Russian and Ukrainian exports of agricultural products to world markets.
“G20 states should hold Russia accountable and insist on supporting UN efforts to reopen sea routes for grain shipments“, he said.
“Whether this will happen at the level of the G20 or at the level of individual countries, what is more important is the positions that Secretary Blinken will present”Toloui said.
Ukraine has accused Russia of stealing its grain as the occupation of the country continues and of blocking Ukrainian ports where grain shipments are located. These blockades Kiev has said are affecting the lack of global supplies.
Ukraine said this week it will hold talks with Turkey and the UN to obtain security guarantees for grain exports.
Moscow has denied it is stealing Ukraine’s grain, but satellite images and other data show Russia is transporting grain from Ukraine through the port of Sevastopol in Crimea.
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