Russian ambassador says Putin plans to attend G-20 summit in Indonesia
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Any proposal to remove Russia is unlikely, as members like India, Brazil, South Africa and China would not agree.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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JAKARTA (REUTERS) - Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to attend a G20 summit in Indonesia later this year, Russia’s ambassador to Indonesia said on Wednesday (March 23), dismissing suggestions by some G20 members that Russia could be barred from the group.
The United States and its Western allies are assessing whether Russia should remain within the Group of Twenty major economies following its invasion of Ukraine, sources involved in the discussions told Reuters.
But any bid to exclude Russia would likely be vetoed by others in the group, raising the prospect of some countries instead skipping G20 meetings, the sources said.
Russia’s ambassador to Indonesia, which currently holds the rotating G20 chair, said Mr Putin intended to travel to the Indonesian resort island of Bali for the G20 summit in November.
“It will depend on many, many things, including the Covid-19 situation, that is getting better. So far, his intention is ... he wants to,” ambassador Lyudmila Vorobieva told a news conference.
Asked about suggestions Russia could be excluded from the G20, she said it was a forum to discuss economic issues and not a crisis like Ukraine.
“Of course expulsion of Russia from this kind of forum will not help these economic problems to be resolved. On the contrary, without Russia it would be difficult to do so.”
Ms Vorobieva urged Indonesia not to be swayed by pressure from Western countries.
"We really hope that the Indonesian government will not give in to the horrible pressure that’s being applied not only to Indonesia but so many other countries in the world by the West," said Ms Vorobieva, who said Russia was actively taking part in all G-20 meetings.
On its part, China on Wednesday described Russia as an “important member” of the G20 and said it cannot be expelled.
“The G20 is the main forum for international economic cooperation,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters. “Russia is an important member, and no member has the right to expel another country.”
China has provided a level of diplomatic protection to Russia, after the leaders of the two countries declared a relationship of “no limits” following a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Beijing for the Winter Olympics.
Mr Wang’s comments follow a briefing by a top Washington security advisor on Tuesday indicating the US will lead pressure on Russia to be cut from international forums over its invasion of its neighbour.
“On the question of the G20, I will just say this: We believe that it cannot be business as usual for Russia in international institutions and in the international community,” Jake Sullivan White House National Security Advisor said.
The G-20 along with the smaller Group of Seven (G-7) - comprising just the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan and Britain - is a key international platform for coordinating everything from climate change action to cross-border debt.
Russia is facing an onslaught of international sanctions led by Western nations aiming to isolate it from the global economy, including notably shutting it out of the Swift global bank messaging system and restricting dealings by its central bank.
"There have been discussions about whether it's appropriate for Russia to be part of the G-20," said a senior G-7 source. "If Russia remains a member, it will become a less useful organisation."
Asked whether US President Joe Biden would move to push Russia out of the G-20 when he meets with allies in Brussels this week, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House on Tuesday: "We believe that it cannot be business as usual for Russia in international institutions and in the international community."
However, the United States plans to consult with its allies before any other pronouncements are made, he said.
A European Union source separately confirmed the discussions about Russia's status at forthcoming meetings of the G-20.
"It has been made very clear to Indonesia that Russia's presence at forthcoming ministerial meetings would be highly problematic for European countries," said the source, adding there was however no clear process for excluding a country.
The G-7 was expanded to a new "G-8" format including Russia during a period of warmer ties in the early 2000s. But Moscow was indefinitely suspended from that club after its annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Earlier on Tuesday, Poland said it had suggested to US commerce officials that it replace Russia within the G-20 group and that the suggestion had received a "positive response."
A US Commerce Department spokesperson said that a "good meeting" had been held last week between Polish Economic Development and Technology Minister Piotr Nowak and US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo but added: "She (Raimondo) welcomed hearing Poland's views on a number of topics, including the operation of the G-20, but did not express a position on behalf of the US Government with respect to the Polish G-20 proposal."
The G-7 source said it was seen as unlikely that Indonesia, currently heading the G-20, or members like India, Brazil, South Africa and China would agree to remove Russia from the group.
"It's impossible to remove Russia from G-20" unless Moscow makes such a decision on its own, said an official of a G-20 member country in Asia. "There's simply no procedure to deprive Russia of G-20 membership."
If G-7 countries instead were to skip this year's G-20 meetings, that could be a powerful signal to India, the source said. It has drawn the ire of some Western nations over its failure to condemn the Russian invasion and support Western measures against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia's status at other multilateral agencies is also being questioned.
In Geneva, World Trade Organisation (WTO) officials said numerous delegations there were refusing to meet their Russian counterparts in various formats.
"Many governments have raised objections to what is happening there and these objections have manifested themselves in a lack of engagement with the member concerned," WTO spokesperson Keith Rockwell said.
One source from a Western country said those not engaging with Russia at the WTO included the European Union, the United States, Canada and Britain. No confirmation from those delegations was immediately available.
