Disparities over war in Ukraine impede G20 finance meeting
3 Min Read
Indonesia urges G20 finance leaders to remain focused on global economic recovery, but the Bali meeting ended without a joint communique as the war in Ukraine divides the group.
-
US Treasury Secretary Yellen and South African Finance Minister Godongwan
A two-day meeting of the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations' finance ministers and central banks concluded, on Saturday, without a joint communique, as the war in Ukraine overshadowed proceedings.
Instead of issuing a joint statement, the meeting's host, Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati admitted that disagreements over how to respond to the war in Ukraine were "quite overwhelming".
"I think we are all agreed that this G20 meeting under a very challenging and difficult situation because of the geopolitical tension," she said.
She stressed that some progress had been made but maintained that more work was needed to "maintain this G20 as a forum, a global economic cooperation forum."
However, the group's faultlines were obvious.
Deepening division
Before the meeting’s conclusion, a French Finance Ministry source said, as quoted by Reuters, that "the G20's capacity to act and communicate is very strongly hindered by the war in Ukraine, which one of the G20 members is fully responsible for."
On her account, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, "This is a challenging time because Russia is part of the G20 and doesn't agree with the rest of us on how to characterize the war."
Senior Western officials, including Yellen and Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, blamed Russia for the economic fallout from the war at the start of the meeting.
Yellen stated in bilateral meetings with senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Australia, South Africa, and Singapore that Russia's "unprovoked war against Ukraine has caused global spillovers in food, energy, and other commodities."
She urged countries to support a price cap on Russian oil in order to limit revenue flow to the country's military.
It is worth noting that Serhiy Marchenko, Ukraine's Finance Minister, addressed the G20 meeting virtually, calling for "more severe targeted sanctions" on Russia.
Some G20 members have imposed sanctions on Russia, including the majority of Western countries, most notably the EU, which proposed a seventh package of sanctions on Friday.
Some members, however, such as China, India, and South Africa, have been more reserved in their responses.
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov attended the meeting virtually. The Kremlin attributes blocked food shipments and rising energy prices to Western sanctions.
Read next: Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey approach a deal on Ukraine grain exports
Last week's meetings of finance and foreign ministers laid the groundwork for the G20 heads of state and government summit in Bali in November.
Despite the objections of Western group members, including US President Joe Biden, Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to attend the upcoming summit.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated after a G7 meeting in Germany in June that G7 leaders would attend the G20 summit in November regardless of Putin's presence because "we do not want to drive the G20 apart."
Even though Ukraine is not a member of the G20, President Volodymyr Zelensky has been invited. He stated that if the security situation in his country permits, he would attend.
Read more: Russia's Lavrov dismisses West's criticism at G20
