[ad_1]
The foreign ministers of the G20 countries have arrived in Bali, Indonesia, on Thursday to participate in the summit that will focus on global cooperation and energy and food security.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will be among those present at the summit, amid tensions provoked by Moscow’s decision to invade Ukraine.
In a press release, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock spoke about the current conflict in Ukraine: “It is in everyone’s interest to ensure that international law is respected. That’s the common denominator.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Sergey Lavrov and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi will attend the meeting amid growing concern from Western governments over the impact the conflict in Ukraine is having on rising food and energy prices, which has caused even the United Nations to warn of “an unprecedented wave of hunger and poverty in the world.”
But above all, it is Lavrov’s presence that is causing concern among Western diplomats.
The summit will bring the Russian foreign minister and some of the Kremlin’s most vocal critics face-to-face for the first time since the invasion began on February 24.
Despite the possibility of a boycott, the US State Department confirmed on Tuesday that Blinken would be present in Bali. But the statement says that there will be no official meeting between the US and Lavrov, adding that Moscow “is not serious in terms of diplomacy.”
“We haven’t seen it yet [diplomacinë ruse]”, stated the DASH spokesperson, Ned Price. “We would like the Russians to give us a reason to meet for bilateral talks, with Foreign Minister Lavrov, but the only thing we have seen from Moscow is brutality and aggression against the people of Ukraine.”
There are many divisions among G20 countries following China’s comments ahead of the summit.
On Wednesday, China launched a sharp attack on the US and NATO, just days before Blinken and the Chinese foreign minister are due to meet in Bali.
Washington “respects international rules only as it sees fit,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters in Beijing. He said that “the so-called rules-based international law is actually a family rule made by a small number of countries to serve US self-interest.”
This year’s presidency of the G20 Summit, Indonesia has been forced to play a more constructive role on the world stage. The Asian country has maintained a neutral stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with President Joko Widodo cautious in his comments on the conflict and the first Asian leader to visit the two war-torn countries.
On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang met with his Russian counterpart to discuss the conflict in Ukraine. The pair were photographed holding a bilateral meeting at the island resort where the summit is taking place.
Beijing has maintained close relations with Russia, while Western countries have sought to financially and politically isolate the government led by Vladimir Putin after the invasion of Ukraine.
Lavrov explained to Wang “on the implementation of the main mission of the military operation” in Ukraine and reiterated the Kremlin’s rhetoric that the main goal was the de-Nazification of the country.
Meanwhile, the European Union, which also has representatives in Bali, said it would not allow Moscow to “abuse the G20 as its own propaganda platform,” spokeswoman Nabila Massrali said during a press conference on Thursday.
“Russia’s high-level political participation in the G20 meeting may pose a threat to the credibility, efficiency and relevance of this summit,” Massrali said.
top channel
[ad_2]
Source link
