Summary
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has outlined a ‘Ukrainian formula for peace’ in an address to world leaders gathered in Bali for the G20. He said that Russia must reaffirm the territorial integrity of Ukraine, withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory and pay compensation for damage caused.
The G20, including Russia, will deplore the economic impact of the Ukraine conflict, according to a draft communique, with ‘most’ members also condemning the war. The draft notes there were “other views” and that the “G20 is not the forum to resolve security issues”, but members acknowledged that security issues could “have significant consequences for the global economy”.
Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen has tested positive for Covid and cut short his trip to the G20. He hosted the Asean summit last week where he met leaders including Joe Biden and Xi Jinping. The White House has told reporters Joe Biden tested negative for Covid on Tuesday morning.
French President Emmanuel Macron met with China’s leader Xi Jinping on Tuesday morning, and called for Paris and Beijing to unite against the war in Ukraine.
Britain’s new prime minister Rishi Sunak has told the G20 that Russia’s president Vladimir Putin should have been prepared to face world leaders at the summit, saying Russia leaving Ukraine would be “the single biggest difference” to world affairs.
Five days before a controversial World Cup in Qatar, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has pleaded for peace on behalf of the footballing community and called for a one month ceasefire in Ukraine for the course of the tournament.
G20 draft communique shows 'most' members condemn war in Ukraine
The G20, including Russia, will deplore the economic impact of the Ukraine conflict, according to a draft communique, with ‘most’ members also condemning the war.
“This year, we have also witnessed the war in Ukraine further adversely impact the global economy,” the draft reads.
Countries “reiterated our national positions” and “most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine”, it adds.
“It is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy.”
The draft notes there were “other views” and that the “G20 is not the forum to resolve security issues”, but members acknowledged that security issues could “have significant consequences for the global economy”.
The draft statement seen by news agency AFP will also call for the extension of a deal with Russia that allows the export of Ukrainian grain.
The invasion of Ukraine has caused a disastrous spike in global food and energy prices, tipping millions more into poverty and raising the spectre of famine for some.
Ukraine is one of the world’s top grain producers, and the Russian invasion blocked 20m tonnes of grain in its ports until the United Nations and Turkey brokered a deal giving shipments safe passage.
That deal expires Saturday, and the draft communique urges its “full, timely and continued implementation”.
The document, which must still be approved by G20 leaders before it is officially issued at the summit’s close on Wednesday, warns “today’s era must not be of war.”
It calls the use or threats to use nuclear weapons “inadmissible”, after rhetoric from Russian President Vladimir Putin on their possible use in Ukraine.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi addresses Russia-Ukraine war
Addressing the G20 summit in Bali on Tuesday morning, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi called for peace, and a diplomatic negotiation to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
“I have repeatedly said that we have to find a way to return to the path of ceasefire and diplomacy in Ukraine,” said Modi, adding that the onus of creating a new world order for the post-Covid period “lies on our shoulders.”
The prime minister said that the need of the hour was “to show concrete and collective resolve to ensure peace, harmony and security in the world”.
Modi’s speech emphasised the increasingly powerful role that India now plays in the geopolitics of the Russia-Ukraine war. With a good relationship with both the west and Russia, India has increasingly been touted as a possible negotiator for peace, if the two sides ever agree to sit down together.
India has abstained from all UN votes condemning the Russian invasion and remained outwardly neutral. But behind the scenes, Modi has remained in constant contact with Putin, with whom he said to have a good rapport, and India is reported to have played a background role in persuading Russia to allow ships of Ukrainian wheat to leave ports to ease global food shortages.
In September, at a meeting between Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Indian prime minister told Putin that “now is not the time for war”.
India will take over the G20 presidency next year and will host the summit. Modi said that the UN had failed to tackle some of the most pressing challenges of today and therefore the “relevance of G20 has become more significant”.
FIFA president calls for one month ceasefire for duration of Qatar World Cup
G20 leaders have sat down for their lunch. Before they eat though, summit host Joko Widodo has introduced IOC president, Thomas Bach, and FIFA president Gianni Infantino, to address the leaders.
Five days before a controversial World Cup in Qatar, Infantino has pleaded for peace on behalf of the footballing community.
He has called for a one month ceasefire in Ukraine over the course of the tournament.
Football is much more than just a sport. It has a huge social impact. It’s about passion, tolerance, inclusion and education.
Because football unites the world, the World Cup is an occasion to bring people together in peace, and enjoy something sorely needed in the turbulent times we live in.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy details 'Ukrainian formula for peace'
Ukraine’s president has posted a statement on his telegram channel, following up on the comments he made to G20 leaders a short while ago.
Ukraine has always been a leader in peacekeeping efforts, and the world has seen it. And if Russia says that it supposedly wants to end this war, let it prove it with actions.
We will not allow Russia to wait, build up its forces, and then start a new series of terror and global destabilisation. There will be no Minsk-3, which Russia will violate immediately after the agreement.
There is a Ukrainian formula for peace. Peace for Ukraine, Europe and the world. And there is a set of solutions that can be implemented to really guarantee peace.
Having participated in the G20 summit, I presented proposals for such solutions – specific and honest. Ukraine offers the leading states of the world to be co-creators of peace together with us.
So, the proposals of Ukraine:
1. Radiation and nuclear safety.
2. Food safety.
3. Energy security.
4. Release of all prisoners and deportees.
5. Implementation of the UN Charter and restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the world order.
6. Withdrawal of Russian troops and cessation of hostilities.
7. Restoring justice.
8. Anti-ecocide.
9. Prevention of escalation.
10. Fixing the end of the war.
The White House has told reporters Joe Biden tested negative for Covid on Tuesday morning and was not considered a close contact of Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Hun Sen, who is 70, said he tested positive to Covid on Monday night, and would cut short his attendance at G20 and miss the APEC meetings in Bangkok later this week
Hun Sen recently hosted the Association of Southeast Asian Nation summit in the Cambodian capital, where he met, and shook hands with, leaders from across the world.
In his Facebook post, Hun Sen said that he tested daily. His positive test result had been confirmed by an Indonesian doctor on Tuesday morning, he added.
He would carry on his normal duties, he said, but would not meet with guests.
Macron urges more Chinese pressure to end Ukraine war
French president Emmanuel Macron has urged China’s Xi Jinping to bring Russia to the negotiating table over the war in Ukraine, the presidency said, according to a report from Agence France-Presse.
The two leaders held talks just before the opening of the G20 summit where Macron reportedly called on Xi to “pass messages to president Putin to avoid escalation and return seriously to the negotiating table”, the French presidency told reporters after talks that lasted nearly an hour.
The pair shook hands as they opened talks, with Macron saying the nations must “unite forces to respond... to international crises like Russia’s war in Ukraine”.
Xi made no direct mention of the conflict, according to a readout on Chinese state news agency Xinhua, but described the world as being in a “period of turbulence and transformation” and called for “openness and cooperation”.
'One man has the power to change all of this' Sunak says of Putin
Britain’s new prime minister Rishi Sunak has told the G20 that Russia’s president Vladimir Putin should have been prepared to face world leaders at the summit, saying Russia leaving Ukraine would be “the single biggest difference” to world affairs.
At the opening session of the summit, attended by Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, Sunak used his address to condemn the invasion and the targeting of civilians and warned world leaders about the threat it posed to the international order.
One man has the power to change all of this,” Sunak told the summit.
It is notable that Putin didn’t feel able to join us here. Maybe if he had, we could get on with sorting things out.
Because the single biggest difference that anyone could make is for Russia to get out of Ukraine and end this barbaric war.”
In a veiled remark about those nations who have remained neutral on the conflict, including China and India, Sunak said that all countries were in greater danger because of the precedent that had been set.
“Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has profound implications for us all, because it has undermined the fundamental principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said.
Updated
President Zelenskiy outlines pathway to end Ukraine conflict
In his address to world leaders gathered in Bali, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has outlined a series of condition needed to end the war Ukraine.
Speaking virtually from Ukraine, he said that Russia must reaffirm the territorial integrity of Ukraine, withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory and pay compensation for damage caused.
Zelenskiy is calling for an international conference to “cement key element of the postwar security architecture” and prevent a recurrence of “Russian aggression”.
“When all anti-war measures are implemented, a document confirming the end of the war should be signed by the parties.”
Throughout his speech he pointedly thanked the “G19” – excluding Russia – for making it clear that there were “no excuses for nuclear blackmail.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin was not in the room, but his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was in attendance at the meeting in Bali.
Ukraine's president delivers address to G20 leaders
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has told the G20 that “now is the time” to end Russia’s “destructive war”.
Addressing the summit in Bali virtually from Ukraine, Zelenskiy said there would be no Minsk 3, referring to the two failed agreements to end the conflict in Ukraine.
“We will not allow Russia to wait out and build up its forces … I am convinced that now is the time when Russia’s war must and can be stopped.”
Referring to the ongoing fighting at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Zelenskiy said that no one had the right to blackmail the world with a nuclear disaster and that Russia has turned the plant into a “radioactive bomb that can explode at any moment.”
The west will seek to convince the G20 that Russia’s war in Ukraine is responsible for global economic suffering
Western leaders will on Monday try to corner and isolate Russia at the G20 summit in Bali by saying it is Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Ukraine that has led to the world crisis in food security, mounting debt and rampant inflation.
Indonesia, hosting its largest global gathering in its history, has been pressing the west to tone down its criticisms of Russia to prevent the summit failing to reach agreement on wider issues. Indonesia is desperate to avoid walkouts or rows that lead to a failure to agree a joint communique. But official level progress on the communique was made at the eve of summit talks on the rain-lashed resort on Monday.
Sergei Lavrov, the veteran Russian foreign minister, is representing Vladimir Putin, who pulled out fearing he was facing a two-day harangue from western leaders. Putin is also under growing criticism from his ally China over his frequent threats to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
Ahead of the summit, the US, EU and UK issued a joint statement trying to counter Russian claims that the deal allowing the export of Ukrainian grains through the Black Sea has been undermined by a failure of the west to lift indirect sanctions on exports of Russian fertilisers.
The grain deal, negotiated jointly by Turkey and the UN in July, has been a rare patch of diplomatic sunlight, but is up for renewal on Friday. Russia and Ukraine account for roughly 30% of all wheat and barley exports, a fifth of maize, and more than half of all sunflower oil.
The deal allowing exports past the Russian navy from three Ukrainian seaports has been critical to lowering grain prices.
But Russia claims the deal is lop-sided because western sanctions have indirectly continued to cast a shadow over the exports of Russian grain by affecting payments, insurance and shipping. The Russian foreign ministry has insisted that only ensuring unhindered access of its food and fertilisers to world markets will make it possible to achieve price stabilisation and guarantee future harvests. Russia has already suspended its cooperation once.
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Summits of this nature are normally wrapped up with a joint communique from those attending, but this year it could be derailed by a lack of consensus over some key issues.
Russia will veto any strong language that condemns its war in Ukraine and the effect this is having on global food and energy prices.
A senior US official has also said that the issue of debt relief for the world’s poorest countries could prove to be contentious too.
What you’re going to see in the G20 statement is that 19 members of the G20 came together to say this is a core, first-order issue that we need to take collective action with respect to, and you’ll see that, you know, one country is still blocking progress.
The official would not name the hold-out country but this appeared likely to be China, a massive creditor to poor countries around the world in a policy that western countries have condemned as “debt traps” used to tighten Beijing’s grip on the global economy.
The official mentioned a similar opposition to a joint agreement on restructuring such debts at the October meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
French President Emmanuel Macron met with China’s leader Xi Jinping on Tuesday morning, and called for Paris and Beijing to unite against the war in Ukraine.
On the sidelines of the G20 summit, Macron told Xi that they must “unite forces to respond … to international crises like Russia’s war in Ukraine.”
Xi made no mention of the conflict in his opening remarks, calling more broadly for the two countries to “uphold the spirits of independence, autonomy, openness and cooperation”.
This is President Xi’s second overseas trip since the pandemic, and so far he’s commanded much of the spotlight in Bali – with officials lining up to hold face-to-face talks with the leader of the world’s second-largest economy.
Australia’s prime minister Anthony Albanese will meet the Chinese leader later Tuesday, and Britain’s new prime minister Rishi Sunak has also said he hopes to talk with Xi.
We’ve got a bit more detail on Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Sen, who has cancelled his G20 meetings after testing positive to Covid.
His positive test came before scheduled meetings with French president Emmanuel Macron and Chinese leader Xi Jingping – but after he hosted more than a dozen world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, at the Asean summit in Phnom Penh.
At the summit, that ended on Sunday, Hun Sen met with eight leaders of southeast Asian countries as well as the leaders of the United States, China, Japan, Australia and Canada.
In a facebook post, he said he had been tested every day, including before flying to the G20 in Bali, and all the results had been negative.
I am not sure when this virus came to me, but when I arrived, the Indonesians took a sample from me in the evening, and in the morning it confirmed Covid-19 positive.
He said it was “lucky” that he arrived in Bali late and missed a dinner with other leaders and that for safety reasons, the Cambodian delegation would return home on Tuesday.
Reports that G20 will issue statement to "condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine"
The G20 will reportedly issue an end-of-summit statement in which “most” members will strongly condemn Russia’s war against Ukraine, a senior US official has said.
“I think you’re going to see most members of the G20 make clear that they condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine, that they see Russia’s war in Ukraine as the root source of immense economic and humanitarian suffering in the world,” the official told reporters, according to Agence France-Presse.
The statement, to be issued at the end of the summit this week in Bali, will show that the G20 is “really isolating Russia” – a member of the group of the world’s biggest economies.
The official would not say how many countries would not join the condemnation, nor how diplomats would craft the non-unanimous declaration within the document, which is issued by all member countries.
The US official said, “Russia’s war of aggression … is being condemned in the strongest possible terms.”
The leaders of the G20 are now in a closed door working group, we expect them to emerge for lunch at about 12.30pm local time.
These working groups are important – and what happens in them will contribute to a communique at the end of the summit – but the eyes of the world be focused on the bilateral meetings that happen on the side of the summit.
Yesterday, China’s Xi Jinping met with president Joe Biden; their first face to face meeting as leaders.
This morning, Xi met with French president Emmanuel Macron, and he’s set to meet with Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, later today.
UK prime minister Rishi Sunak met his Canadian counterpart for a casual dinner in a Bali restaurant on Monday night.
Anthony Albanese met with host of the summit, Joko Widodo, on Monday evening. Indonesia’s President was one of the first foreign leaders that Albanese met after becoming prime minister back in May.
Indonesia's president says world "must not fall into another cold war"
President Joko Widodo has called for unity at the opening of the G20 summit, and said that the gathered leaders must not allow the world to fall into another cold war.
His remarks will likely be interpreted as a commentary on the effects that Russia’s war in Ukraine is having on the wider global economy.
Without referring ever directly to the war in Ukraine, he said that if the war did not end, it would be difficult for the world to move forward.
Indonesia has tried as best as possible to bridge very wide differences. We have no other option, collaboration is badly needed.
Now that Indonesia’s president has opened the summit, the first working session between world leaders will get under way.
These sessions are closed to the media.
This morning’s meeting is set to be on food and energy security. This is a theme that Indonesia has pushed as hosts of the summit, with a particular focus on support for low and middle income countries.
Updated
Indonesia's President officially opens the G20 summit
President Joko Widodo has opened the summit with a speech to the gathered world leaders.
He said that “the eyes of the world were focused” on their meeting.
Adding that the G20 meeting “must succeed”, Widodo said that the world faces “crisis upon crisis, sharpening rivalries.”
“The world is facing extraordinary challenges,” Indonesia’s president said, and the impact of these is felt, “very strongly on food and energy supplies.”
US president Joe Biden has just arrived at the opening of the G20 in Bali. He was greeted by Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo who then accompanied the President into the main hall of the summit’s venue.
Now that he’s arrived the first working sessions of the summit will get under way. It’s in these meetings that the official issues of the G20 will be discussed by world leaders.
They’re then set to break at about 12.30pm local time for lunch, before reconvening in the afternoon for the second working session which will be closed to press.
Britain has announced it will spend $4.9bn on five new Navy ships to bolster security “in the face of increased Russian threats”.
The announcement came with prime minister Rishi Sunak set to begin his first full day of official events at the G20 summit in Bali.
A statement from Downing Street read:
Russia’s actions put all of us at risk. As we give the Ukrainian people the support they need, we are also harnessing the breadth and depth of UK expertise to protect ourselves and our allies. This includes building the next generation of British warships.
The spending is the next phase in a programme under which three vessels are already under construction. All eight frigates are expected to be completed by the mid-2030s, the statement said.
A quick snap from Joe Biden here ahead of the US president’s arrival.
Biden posted a series of tweets this morning noting the series of diplomatic meetings that have taken place over the past few days.
This week’s travel has brought together the broadest possible coalition of partners to confront this moment of great global challenges — from global inflation, to the climate crisis, to Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine.
At the G20 meetings, we’ll speak on the very issues that matter to people’s lives, not only at home but around the world. This forum is crucial for the world’s largest economies to work together for the good of people everywhere, and I’m looking forward to convening.”
This week’s travel has brought together the broadest possible coalition of partners to confront this moment of great global challenges — from global inflation, to the climate crisis, to Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine.
— President Biden (@POTUS) November 15, 2022
Xi Jinping has just been seen entering the main venue for today’s talks.
The Chinese leader and his US counterpart Joe Biden held their first ever face-to-meeting as leaders yesterday, in an attempt to reduce tensions over Taiwan and trade that have sent US-China ties to their lowest level in decades.
Biden said he does not believe China has any “imminent” plans to invade Taiwan, but objected to its “coercive and increasingly aggressive actions” toward the island in his first in-person meeting with Xi Jinping since they became leaders.
Biden also said he and the Chinese leader had been “candid and clear” with each other on subjects ranging from Taiwan to trade.
The meeting, which lasted more than three hours, was seen as an attempt to reduce tensions that have brought US-China relations to their lowest ebb in decades.
Biden said he “absolutely believes” that a new cold war with China can be avoided, adding that he did not believe there was any “imminent attempt on the part of China to invade Taiwan”.
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Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has also arrived for the anticipated talks this morning.
His participation in the summit comes at a time of strained ties with the United States over energy supplies and the Russia-Ukraine conflict in addition to US concern over growing Gulf ties with China, whose president is due to visit Saudi Arabia.
Zelenskiy responds to Biden-Xi meeting
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has welcomed criticism of threats to use nuclear weapons, made during the meeting between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping on Monday.
According to the White House, Biden and Xi “underscored their opposition to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine,” at their meeting on Monday.
A readout of the meeting on China’s foreign ministry website made no use of the word “nuclear” but said: “Conflicts and wars produce no winner … and … confrontation between major countries must be avoided.”
Zelenskiy welcomed these remarks, saying: “It is important that the United States and China jointly highlighted that the threats of using nuclear weapons were unacceptable.”
He added, “Everyone understands to whom these words are addressed.”
Russia’s foreign minister and representative for Vladimir Putin, Sergei Lavrov, is walking into the summit now.
Putin said he would not attend the gathering of leaders from the G20 nations in Bali, Indonesian and Russian officials confirmed last week, ending weeks of speculation about a possible confrontation with the US president, Joe Biden.
Russia’s president will be represented by his veteran foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, officials said. “President Putin’s programme is still being worked out; he could participate virtually,” said Yulia Tomskaya, the chief of protocol as the Russian embassy in Indonesia.Putin may have wanted to avoid potentially explosive showdowns with western leaders including Biden, events that Russian media might have been unable to present to his benefit.
Updated
Cambodian prime minister, Hun Sen, has cancelled meetings he was due to have at the G20 summit in Bali after testing positive for Covid-19, according to a statement posted on his Facebook page this morning.
Hun Sen, who is the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), had tested positive before he had held any meetings including those scheduled with French president Emmanuel Macron and Chinese leader Xi Jingping, the statement said.
Hun Sen said he would not attend “for the safety of delegates attending the meeting”.
He also hosted a summit of Asean and global leaders that ended on Sunday in Cambodia.
Updated
Leaders begin to arrive
It’s 9am in Bali and leaders of the G20 major economies have started to arrive at the main venue for the start of the summit.
There are official topics on the agenda for the day and much of it has been guided by summit host, Indonesia.
Energy security and clean energy transition for low and middle-income countries is high up the list today. Global health security is also set to be discussed.
However, it’s likely talks will be overshadowed by discussions on Russia’s war in Ukraine and soaring global inflation.
This morning, European Council President Charles Michel told journalists that the G20 is an opportunity to “Convince all the partners to put more pressure on Russia”.
Ukraine's President to address G20 gathering
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, will address the G20 summit in Bali virtually today.
Zelenskiy is likely to use the address to highlight the way Russia has in effect taken tens of thousands of Ukrainians hostage by transporting them to Russia.
Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, has not travelled to the gathering of leaders but is being represented by his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.
On Monday, US president Joe Biden met with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in their first face-to-face meeting as leaders. According to a White House statement on the meeting, both leaders expressed concerns over Moscow’s nuclear threats.
The US readout said that “a nuclear war should never be fought” and could not be won, and they “underscored their opposition to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine”.
Summary and welcome
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the G20 summit in Bali. I’m Jonathan Yerushalmy and I’ll be bring you all the latest as it unfolds over the coming hours.
Leaders of the G20 nations – the world’s major economies – will gather in Bali, Indonesia, for an annual summit that’s been overshadowed by the presence of Russia during its war in Ukraine. Although President Vladimir Putin has pulled out, Russia is be represented by veteran foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.
The Group of 20 – made up of 19 countries plus the European Union – account for nearly two-thirds of the global population, 85% of the world’s economic output and 75% of world trade.
As of 2022, there are 20 members in the group: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union.
