Russia faces blame as G-20 tackles Ukraine war, soaring food prices
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The US and allies are pinning high global food and fuel prices at Vladimir Putin’s door during a G-20 summit.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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NUSA DUA, Indonesia - The United States and allies will heap pressure on Russia on Tuesday to end the Ukraine war, pinning painfully high global food and fuel prices G-20 summit.
Leaders from the world’s 20 largest economies are gathered in Bali, Indonesia to discuss soaring inflation
On the eve of the talks, Mr Putin’s critics forged a united front, blaming his eight-month-old war for the global economic tumult.
“Every household on the planet is feeling the impact of Putin’s war,” British officials said previewing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s remarks.
Even Russia’s ally China issued a subtle rebuke, with President Xi Jinping voicing opposition to the use of nuclear threats
Mr Putin has decided to skip the summit,
Rubbing salt in the wounds, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky – fresh from a visit to liberated Kherson – will address G-20 leaders in a video message.
In Mr Putin’s sted, Russia will be represented by Sergei Lavrov, despite the veteran foreign minister making two Bali hospital trips in as many days
Moscow denied the top diplomat had been hospitalised.
Although a seasoned and pugilistic diplomat, Mr Lavrov is not seen as part of Mr Putin’s inner circle.
This means the chance of a diplomatic breakthrough to end the war is vanishingly small.
With Mr Zelensky and Mr Putin absent “there is little chance of any real peace diplomacy in Bali”, said Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group.
Still, French President Emmanuel Macron has kept an olive branch extended. He will call Mr Putin after the G-20 summit, according to a senior French official.
Host Indonesia still holds out hope that the summit can lead to a joint statement that would show the major countries can agree on a way forward.
“Negotiation was nearly there, but we cannot promise anything,” a senior Indonesian official told AFP, adding that the issue of the war remains the crucial sticking point.
US allies hope their argument about the need to up pressure on Mr Putin finds favour with G-20 nations that, while cautious about denouncing Russia, are deeply concerned about rising prices.
G-20 members Argentina and Turkey are among the countries worst hit by food inflation,
“Ending Russia’s war is a moral imperative and the single best thing we can do for the global economy,” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on the eve of the meeting.
The International Crisis Group’s Gowan warned that “if all Western powers want to do in Bali is belittle Russia, they will find that a lot of non-Western colleagues will not play along”.
Grain corridor
An expiring deal allowing Ukraine to export grain though the Black Sea is likely to be another focus of conversation.
The deal expires on Nov 19, and Russia has already threatened to rip it up.
On Monday United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres voiced hope that Russia would extend, saying the arrangement was crucial for food security.
“I am hopeful that the Black Sea grain initiative will be renewed,” Mr Guterres said.
Ukraine is one of the world’s top grain producers.
The Russian invasion had blocked 20 million tonnes of grain in its ports until the United Nations and Turkey brokered the deal in July.
“We need urgent action to prevent famine and hunger in a growing number of places around the world,” Mr Guterres said.
The build up to the G-20 has been dominated by a first presidential sit down between Mr Biden and Mr Xi.
The pair cooled Cold War rhetoric in a three hour summit as they tried to take some of the heat out of their simmering superpower rivalry.
“The world expects that China and the United States will properly handle the relationship,” Mr Xi told Biden. AFP
