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Despite Russia’s participation, the US believes the Group of 20 talks in Bali can make progress on the Ukraine crisis, according to a senior official on Thursday. The State Department says Secretary of State Antony Blinken will not meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov when he arrives Thursday on the Indonesian resort island for Club of Major Economies talks.
According to a senior US official, “virtually all G20 countries” will agree on projects to address global food shortages and energy volatility caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Due to Russia’s participation, the official recognised that joint G20 statements on Ukraine would be impossible.
“Whether or not the G20 as an entity endorses or does not endorse something is less important than whether most, if not all, of the G20 countries put their weight behind anything that we’re trying to do,” the official told reporters during a stop in Tokyo for refuelling.
“You’ll see that we’ll be able to make clear Russia’s obligation for some of the very difficulties that the G20 will be addressing,” he said.
Despite avoiding Russia, Blinken will meet separately with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday to discuss the world’s two largest economies’ high tensions.
The official said that the eagerly anticipated announcement on whether President Joe Biden will alleviate tariffs on China was a matter for the US Trade Representative’s office.
Blinken’s talks with Wang are part of a recent series of engagements between the US and China, which included a meeting of the two countries’ defence chiefs last month in Singapore.
Despite US-led efforts to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin, host Indonesia has invited him to the G20 summit later this year.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was also decided to invite as a compromise.
