G20 Divided Over Russia's Participation

Western countries stage mass walkout during Russia's speech
China and Brazil oppose Russia's expulsion
No joint statement expected after meeting

Anton Siluanov, Russian Minister of Finance
[Photo by Reuters]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The Group of Twenty (G20) appears to be divided over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and others plan to express protest against Russia's invasion, China, Brazil, and others are defending Russia's participation.

Major foreign media reported on the 19th (local time) that "Western countries are preparing diplomatic acts of refusal, including a collective walkout from the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting scheduled for the 20th (local time)."

Anton Siluanov, Russia's Finance Minister, is expected to participate in the meeting via video conference, but Western countries maintain that they cannot proceed with the meeting as usual given that thousands of civilians have died due to the Russian military's attacks.

A French official stated, "Ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) are expected to leave their seats when a Russian official is scheduled to speak." However, the Washington Post (WP) reported that none of the G7 countries will boycott the entire meeting.

The United States and the United Kingdom plan to skip some sessions attended by Russia. A U.S. Treasury Department official explained, "This is to emphasize the view that Russia should be excluded from global financial institutions."

A source from the German government said, "We will send a strong message to Russia during this meeting," criticizing that "Russia's invasion of Ukraine has caused a sharp rise in food and energy prices."

China, Brazil, and others hold the opposite stance. China has clearly opposed calls to expel Russia from the G20. Brazil's Foreign Minister Carlos Franca also stated on the same day, "Excluding Russia does not solve the problem," and emphasized that Russia should participate in the meeting.

India, Indonesia, and others, who have not joined sanctions against Russia, are also unlikely to show the same moves as Western countries. As the G20 splits over Russia, French and German government officials said that there will likely be no joint communique, which is usually issued at such meetings.

George Lipsky, director of the U.S. think tank Atlantic Council, said, "The G20 is on the verge of disintegration, and this week’s meeting is very important." The WP analyzed, "This meeting, the first since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, is emerging as a gauge of how major international organizations will respond to Russia's aggression."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.