G20 talks in Bali overshadowed by Ukraine war as host Indonesia seeks progress on tackling global threats
- G20 host Indonesia seeks to keep meeting focused on global economic issues
- US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen condemns Russia’s ‘brutal and unjust war’
G20 finance leaders meeting in Bali must make progress tackling the global economic threats sparked by Russia’s war in Ukraine or the humanitarian consequences would be catastrophic, host Indonesia said on Friday.
Some Western ministers blasted Russian officials attending the talks, with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen saying Russia’s “brutal and unjust war” was solely responsible for the economic crisis the world now faced.
Finance leaders from the Group of 20 major economies are meeting on the resort island, as host Indonesia tries to find common ground in a group frayed by the Ukraine war and rising economic pressures from soaring inflation.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which the Kremlin calls a “special military operation”, has overshadowed recent G20 meetings, including last week’s gathering of foreign ministers.
Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the world had high hopes the group could find a solution to the threat of war, rising commodity prices and the spillover effects on the ability of low-income countries to repay debt.
“We are acutely aware that the cost of our failure to work together is more than we can afford. The humanitarian consequences for the world, and especially for many low income countries would be catastrophic,” she said.