JAKARTA: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will attend a meeting in Bali with his counterparts from the Group of 20 largest economies this week, officials confirmed on Wednesday, as host Indonesia tries to mediate in the bloc over Moscow’s participation. Is.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, one of the world’s breadbaskets, has jolted global supply chains and sparked an energy crisis following international sanctions on Moscow – a major oil and gas producer – causing inflation in many countries. is also increasing.
The G20 includes Western countries that have accused Russia of war crimes in Ukraine, but countries such as China, India and South Africa have also remained neutral. The gathering will be the first time foreign ministers from some of the world’s top economies have met with Lavrov since the start of the offensive in late February.
Indonesia, which chairs the G20 this year and is facing pressure to oust Russia from the summit in November, is hoping for a full presence during the ministerial meeting on Friday.
Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasiah told Arab News: “All G20 foreign ministers will be in Bali.”
Lavrov’s presence was confirmed by Denis Tetyushin, spokesman for the Russian embassy in Jakarta, who told Arab News that “the agenda is the same for all delegations”, including Russia.
Friday’s meeting follows Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s visits to Kyiv and Moscow last week to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin – both invited to the November summit.
The G20 foreign ministers are expected to discuss ways to strengthen global cooperation and address the food crisis and global rise in commodity prices.
“With the new situation in Ukraine, issues related to food security will also be widely discussed at the G-20 meetings,” Indonesia’s foreign ministry said in a statement. “This meeting will serve as a strategic forum to discuss global recovery efforts.”
Indonesia has also invited non-member countries, including Ukraine, to attend this week’s meeting. Ukraine’s ambassador to Jakarta, Vasil Hamianin, told Arab News that Foreign Minister Dimitro Kuleba would attend the meeting virtually and that the Eastern European nation views its participation “positively”.
He added: “The global agenda at present is closely related to the events taking place in Ukraine.”
Top officials from the UK, Canada and the US staged a walkout on Russian representatives at the G20 finance meeting in Washington in April. Lavrov’s reaction in Bali could give an indication of how members of the bloc will react if Putin attends the summit in person in Bali later this year, which has not been confirmed.
On Lavrov’s attendance at ministerial-level meetings, Hamianin said: “War criminals and officials representing terrorist states should not be allowed to appear on any official and respected international forum.” He said Lavrov was the minister of state that was “committing large-scale crimes against humanity in Ukraine.”