Foreign ministers from the Group of 20 rich and developing nations are gathering in Indonesia’s resort island of Bali for talks that will be dominated by the conflict in Ukraine despite an agenda focused on global cooperation and food and energy security.
The one-day gathering will take place on Friday on the mostly Hindu “island of the gods” in the majority Muslim archipelago nation.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov stopped in various Asian capitals on their way to Bali, drumming up support and fortifying their ties in the region ahead of the talks.
On Thursday Lavrov informed Wang about “the course of fulfilling the main tasks of the Russian special military operation”, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
It added that the ministers had “shared their assessment of the actions taken by the West in the context of the situation in Ukraine”.
“Both parties emphasised that it’s inadmissible to introduce unlawful unilateral sanctions bypassing the United Nations.”
🇷🇺🇨🇳 In Indonesia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. pic.twitter.com/kRLnpyUJhh
— 🇷🇺Jacob🇷🇺Charite🇷🇺 (@jaccocharite) July 7, 2022
The United States and its allies have sought to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin in as many ways as possible, including by threatening a boycott of the G20′s Bali summit in November, unless Putin is removed from the forum.
As this year’s president of the G20, Indonesia has been forced into playing a more constructive role on the world stage rather than acting just as an “event organiser".
The country had sought to remain neutral in dealing with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and President Joko Widodo has been guarded in his comments.
Widodo was the first Asian leader to visit the warring countries. Ukraine is not a member of G20, but Widodo has invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the November summit along with Putin, hoping to appease all sides and limit any distractions from the forum’s agenda.
Compromise
Zelensky has said he won’t attend if the war is continuing at that time and has opted to follow the discussions by video link.
Widodo reportedly told Italian Prime Minister Marion Draghi, on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Germany, that Putin would not be coming either. Moscow says it has not yet made a decision.
That apparent compromise may be put to the test when the G20 foreign ministers gather in Bali’s heavily-guarded Nusa Dua tourist haven to lay the groundwork for the 17th summit of the West’s economic powerhouses.
Strains between Washington and Beijing are also apparent: on Wednesday, China launched a scathing attack on the US and NATO, just days before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the Chinese foreign minister are due to meet in Bali.
Washington “observes international rules only as it sees fit,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters in Beijing.
He said the “so-called rules-based international order is actually a family rule made by a handful of countries to serve the US self-interest".
The #US was not at war for only 16 years since its independence in 1776 -- “the most warlike nation in the history of the world” indeed. Isn’t the US the biggest threat to world peace, stability & development? pic.twitter.com/vWv0p0D9bB
— Spokesperson发言人办公室 (@MFA_China) July 7, 2022
'Not business as usual'
Meanwhile, a senior US official, speaking on condition he not be further identified, said it would be important to focus on the G20 agenda in Bali, but that it “clearly cannot be business as usual".
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who will also attend the G20 meetings, said he has no plans to meet Lavrov.
But he is scheduled to meet with Wang, Beijing's top envoy, on Saturday.
That meeting will be the latest high-level contact between US and Chinese officials as Washington has questioned China's stance after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The two sides could also discuss a possible lifting of US tariffs on imports from China by President Joe Biden's administration as it strives to counter inflation.
U.S. does not expect any Blinken-Lavrov meeting at G20 this week https://t.co/RCc1K8bDhA pic.twitter.com/AtJpkEa0fW
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 5, 2022
What is more important than a unanimous statement about the Russian invasion of Ukraine is what countries in the G-20 actually do to address the problems the world is facing now, he said.
A key aim of the talks will be to seek ways to improve food security at a time when Russia's invasion of Ukraine has choked global markets, pushing prices of meat, dairy products, cereals, sugar and vegetable oils sharply higher.
'Extreme poverty'
“These visits are not only important for Indonesians but also for other developing countries in order to prevent the people of developing and low-income countries from falling into extreme poverty and hunger,” Widodo told reporters in Jakarta before his departure to Germany on 26 June.
Russia and Ukraine account for a third of the world’s wheat exports and Ukraine alone grows enough of the grain to feed 400 million people. But Moscow’s blockade means Kyiv can only move 2 million tons a month, 60 percent less than usual.
Millions of tons of Ukrainian grain are sitting in silos waiting to be shipped through safe corridors in the Black Sea.
Ukraine also is one of the world’s largest exporters of corn and sunflower oil, but Russia’s invasion halted most of that flow. Such disruptions threaten food supplies for many developing countries, especially in Africa.
Foreign ministers headed to Bali on Thursday come from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the US, and the European Union.
Members of the G20 account for about 80 percent of the world's economic output, two-thirds of the world's population and about three-quarters of global trade.
Sergei Lavrov was absent as his Ukrainian counterpart addressed the G20 talks in Indonesia virtually on Friday, according to two diplomatic sources.
(With wires)
