Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has traveled to the Indonesian island of Bali to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers' meeting, which is expected to be overshadowed by tensions resulting from the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The G20 meeting will continue until Friday, July 8, in Indonesia. Authorities have taken stringent security measures in the Nusa Dua area of Bali, where the summit is being held, with foreign diplomats arriving on the tropical island for the meeting.
In this context, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stated before her arrival in Bali that Russia should not be allowed to use the G20 meeting as a platform amid its war in Ukraine. Baerbock added in a statement, "It is in all our interests to ensure respect for international law and adherence to it. This is our common ground."
The summit will witness the first direct meeting between Lavrov and some of Russia's largest critics since the invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow describes as a "special military operation." Additionally, the Russian news agency TASS reported that Lavrov has arrived in Bali and plans to meet some of his G20 counterparts on the sidelines of the summit; however, ministers including Baerbock and her American counterpart Antony Blinken have ruled out meeting with Lavrov.
The G20 comprises Western countries that have accused Moscow of committing war crimes in Ukraine and have imposed sanctions on it, as well as countries like China, Indonesia, India, and South Africa, which have remained more silent. Some officials from Europe and the United States emphasized that the Bali summit will not be "business as usual." Senior officials from the UK, Canada, and the United States also walked out during speeches by Russian representatives at a G20 financial meeting in Washington in April.
Despite statements about boycotting future G20 meetings, analysts say that Western countries have apparently decided that leaving the stage to Russia would be unproductive. The agenda for the two-day meeting includes discussions on energy and food security, as Russia is accused of exacerbating the global food crisis and increasing inflation by blocking Ukrainian grain shipments. Russia claims it is ready to facilitate unobstructed grain exports.
