G20 in Bali will unite collective West with Russia
Russia, China, and the collective West meet in Indonesia for the first time after NATO called Russia a "threat" and China a "strategic challenge".
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The summit will be the first time that leaders of countries from the collective West, which have made of Russia an enemy through NATO’s strategic Concept paper, meet with the Russian Foreign Minister
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Bali, Indonesia, for the G20 summit. It will be the first time that leaders of countries from the collective West, which have made Russia a direct "threat" through NATO’s strategic Concept paper, meet with the Russian Foreign Minister following the start of the war in Ukraine. As such, the Ukrainian war tensions are likely to shadow the summit.
In addition to the Western countries, the G20 includes nations like China, Indonesia, India, and South Africa who have refused to adopt the Western rhetoric regarding Ukraine’s war.
🇷🇺🇨🇳 In Indonesia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey #Lavrov held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.#RussiaChina pic.twitter.com/bDKuzwwWre
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) July 7, 2022
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said prior to her arrival in Bali that “It is in the interest of us all to ensure that international law is respected and adhered to. That is the common denominator,” adding that Russia must not be allowed to use the G20 platform to push its agenda following the Ukrainian war. Baerbock added that the summit will not be “business as usual” given Russia’s presence. Furthermore, she announced that G7 members will be coordinating their responses to Lavrov in Bali.
Despite the fact that Lavrov told TASS that he is interested in meeting his counterparts at the G20, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Baerbock have already ruled out any potential meetings with him.
It is worth remembering that during the G20 finance conference in Washington, DC, in April, senior members from the UK, Canada, and the US abandoned the Russian delegation.
Read more: Von der Leyen says against boycotting G20 summit if Putin attends
