G20 Russia Speech Sees Western Walkout... WP: "Russia's Friends Remain"

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Western countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany collectively walked out during the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting held in Washington DC on the 20th (local time) to protest Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Washington Post (WP), citing multiple sources, reported that "at least six officials left their seats as Anton Siluanov, Russia's Finance Minister, began his speech."

Specifically, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell, Bank of England (BOE) Governor Andrew Bailey, Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde, and senior economic officials from the Netherlands, Germany, and the United Kingdom exited the meeting room.

Meanwhile, South Korea's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki, along with finance ministers from China, India, Japan, Italy, and Germany, remained. Italy, as the G20 chair country last year, did not participate in the collective walkout. WP noted that "this showed that Russia still has friends within the G20." However, some officials who stayed reportedly turned off their cameras during the Russian speech.

WP explained, "(The Western countries' collective walkout) reflects the confusion among world leaders regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine" and "clearly showed the differing national positions on whether to exclude Russia from the international community."

Canada's Minister Freeland tweeted after the meeting, stating, "Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine is a serious threat to the global economy," and emphasized, "Russia should not participate in this meeting."

The G20 currently does not have a separate procedure to expel member countries. WP said, "Even if Russia is excluded, many non-Western countries would oppose it."

Anton Siluanov, Russia's Finance Minister, attended the meeting virtually. Some Russian officials attended in person, and according to sources, they were accused by Minister Freeland of "working for a government committing war crimes."

After the meeting, the United States urged the global financial community to respond to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Treasury Secretary Yellen said, "The Ukraine war threatens the global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and has worsened inflation through rising food prices."

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