Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday (13 November) urged the G20 to halt talks on security and focus on the world's most pressing socio-economic problems ahead of a summit dominated by Western criticism of Russia's invasion of Ukraine .
The G20 - a group of the world's largest economies, accounting for more than 80 percent of global GDP - meets this week on the Indonesian island of Bali, with Western leaders including the US President, who is expecting Joe Biden, use the high-profile meeting forum to publicly criticize Russia for the war in Ukraine. convinced that the G20 is called to deal with socio-economic problems.
Expanding its agenda in areas of peace and security, which many countries are talking about, is not feasible.
This would be a direct interference with the mandate of the UN Security Council and would undermine the atmosphere of trust and cooperation in the G20. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will lead the Russian delegation to the summit, the first since Moscow invaded Ukraine.
In February after the Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin was too busy to attend. Earlier Sunday, Lavrov berated the West for trying to "militarize" Southeast Asia in comments that paved the way for a potentially tense confrontation at the G20.
He said the global food crisis will be a key part of the agenda in Bali, which comes just days before the historic Black Sea Grains Agreement expires on November 19. fertilizer exports and has so far refused to commit to extending the deal facilitating grain exports from southern Ukrainian ports.