Russian Foreign Minister Visits Bali, Attends G20 Meeting

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Minister of Foreign Affairs Russia Sergei Lavrov flew to Bali Indonesian for meeting G20 foreign minister, which will be overshadowed by the tensions of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

Meeting The G20 will last until Friday (8/7/2022) in the host country Indonesia, which this year has been struggling with balancing actions to carry out the summit a global economy hit by geopolitical pressures and a food crisis.

Reported Reutersthere was tight security on Thursday (6/7/2022) in the Nusa Dua area of ​​Bali, where a summit of diplomats was being held.

Also read: China is ready to deepen cooperation with Russia, including in the G20

Speaking ahead of her arrival in Bali, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Russia should not use the G20 meeting as a platform, given the war in Ukraine.

“It is in the interest of all of us to ensure that international law is respected and complied with. That is equality,” Baerbock said.

The summit is the first face-to-face meeting between Vladimir Putin’s foreign minister, Lavrov and some of Russia’s biggest critics since the invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”.

Lavrov has arrived in Bali and plans to meet some of his G20 colleagues on the sidelines of the summit, Russian news agency TASS reported.

Also read: Blinken Will Bring Russia-Ukraine War Issues to G20 Meeting in Bali

Even so, ministers including Baerbock and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have ruled out the Lavrov meeting.

This group of 20 includes Western countries, accusing Moscow of committing war crimes in Ukraine and imposing sanctions.

Several officials from Europe and the United States have stressed the Bali summit will not be “business as usual”.

A spokesman for Germany’s foreign minister said the G7 countries would coordinate their response to Lavrov in Bali.

Also read: US Secretary of State to Meet Chinese Foreign Minister at G20 Bali, but not Russian Foreign Minister

Top officials from Britain, Canada and the United States walked out of Russia’s representatives during the G20 finance meeting in Washington in April.

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