US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and other finance ministers and central bank governors walked out of a G20 meeting on Wednesday when Russian officials began addressing the gathering, people familiar with the events said.
Canadian Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland posted a picture of those who participated in the walkout on her Twitter account, showing Ukrainian Minister of Finance Serhiy Marchenko, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni and Dutch Minister of Finance Sigrid Kaag among those who took part.
This week’s meeting was the first of the G20 since the war began and was closely watched for signs of how the world’s leading international bodies are responding to Russia’s aggression.
Photo: AFP
Member states of the smaller G7 have taken the lead in pursuing sanctions against Russia and some have sent weapons to Ukraine.
They have sought to engage other countries to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin, and to put limits on trade and investment with Moscow, including on energy. However, many governments in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East — including China and India — remain reluctant to do so.
The G20 did not issue a communique as it usually does following the meeting.
At a virtual press conference after the meeting, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati of Indonesia, which holds the group’s presidency this year, acknowledged that the meeting was held under challenging circumstances.
Many members condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as unprovoked and unjustifiable, with some expressing concerns about its economic consequences, and the protest against Russia’s participation was understandable, Indrawati said.
Nonetheless, the minister said she was confident that differences over the war would not hinder G20 cooperation nor prevent collaboration for addressing issues such as the global COVID-19 pandemic and taxation.
“The G20 continues as a premier forum for all of us to continue to discuss and talk about all of the issues,” she said. “I think we are going to be able to overcome the challenging tasks that we are facing today.”
The session had mostly been devoted to economic risks emanating from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to two of the people who declined to be identified because the meeting was private.
Spanish, French and German officials did not leave the room, one of the people said. Spain currently heads the IMF and Financial Committee — the main steering panel of the IMF’s 190 member countries that is made up of central bankers and finance ministers — and therefore was not in a position to leave, with some European officials opting to stay in solidarity, the person said.
While US ally Japan has sanctioned Russia and provided aid for Ukraine, its finance minister did not join the walkout, Japan’s top government spokesman told reporters in Tokyo yesterday.
German Minister of Finance Christian Lindner made clear in the meeting that it would have been preferable for the Russian delegation not to attend the G20, a German government official said.
One of the people said that some officials who were attending virtually turned off their cameras when Russian officials spoke.
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