G20 foreign ministers on Friday called for an end to the war and grain blockade in Ukraine, as Russia’s top diplomat walked out of a meeting and denounced the West for “frenzied criticism” and a chance to tackle global economic problems lost.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its impact on food security and energy dominated a closed-door gathering on the Indonesian island of Bali, which ended without a joint statement, and no announcement of any agreement.
The forum was the first face-to-face meeting between staunch critics of Russia and its war.
In the spotlight was Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whose arrival at Friday’s meeting was met with slogans of “when will you stop the war” and “why don’t you stop the war”, as he was welcomed by Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. . ,
Lavrov emerged from the first session with a strong rebuke from his Western counterparts, who said he “deviated almost immediately” from the topics of discussion “for his frenzied criticism of the Russian Federation”.
“Aggressors’, ‘invaders’, ‘occupiers’ – we heard a lot of things today,” Lavrov told reporters.
According to the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, at the next session, Lavrov read out a statement, then left, without listening to others, who described the action as “not very respectable”.
Lavrov attended a reception on Thursday where none of the G-7 ministers were present.
Russia calls the war a “special military operation” to humiliate Ukraine’s military and root out dangerous nationalists.
Ukraine and its Western supporters say Russia is engaged in an imperialist-style land grab without justification for its attack.
‘Forced comments’
“This was not a hot shower for Lavrov,” said a Western official who attended the meeting, adding some “very loud remarks” against Russia’s aggression and a consensus for the need to end the blockade of Ukrainian grain exports. .
Indonesia’s Retno, who chaired the forum, said Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke directly to each other in the meeting room. He did not say what he discussed.
Blinken said on the sidelines of the meeting that challenges from rising food and energy costs “have been dramatically intensified by the Russian invasion”.
According to a senior State Department official, he told delegates that for the G20 to remain relevant, it must hold Russia accountable.
Ukraine, the world’s fourth-largest grain exporter, is struggling to export goods, with many of its ports on its southern coast blocked as the war rages on.
Lavrov later told reporters that Russia was ready to hold talks with Ukraine and Turkey about grain, but it was unclear when such talks could take place.
Meetings were affected by the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whom Blinken described as “gravely disturbed”, expressing shock at the death of a “leader with great vision”.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told reporters that Abe was “a giant on the world stage” with a legacy of global influence.
‘The Hunger Games’
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba addressed the meeting virtually, accusing Russia of playing “the hunger games” through a blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea port.
“We have no right to allow Russia to blackmail the world through high energy prices, hunger and security threats,” he said.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had earlier said that the Beijing bloc opposes any act to promote confrontation and create a “new cold war”.
He held talks with Wong on Friday at the first such meeting between China and Australia in three years, which Wong described as “an important first step” towards stabilizing ties.
Relations have soured over claims of foreign interference and retaliatory trade sanctions.
In closing remarks, Indonesia’s Retno said the G20 gathering showed an urgent need to strengthen multilateralism and that it was important that foreign ministers could still meet in the same room, despite global challenges.
“The decision of members and invitees to personally attend the meeting should not be taken lightly,” he said.
“He chose to make the extra effort to be here.”
— the ending —