Foreign
RUSSIAN Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, arrived in Bali on Thursday for a G20 meeting of top diplomats expected to be overshadowed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a looming global food crisis.
The meeting, set to start on Friday, is expected to be attended by top diplomats from all G20 member countries, including U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and the Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.
Lavrov was scheduled to conduct bilateral talks with Wang on Thursday, a source at the Chinese embassy in Jakarta said.
Experts said divisions about Lavrov’s presence could be the highlight of the meeting.
Russia’s invasion has prompted extensive Western sanctions and efforts to sideline Russia from the global economy.
Many of those Western countries are also providing support to Ukraine, which has now held out for more than four months against the Russian invasion.
“There will likely be a drama over Lavrov, but if Indonesia can cajole Russia into peace with Ukraine, I think that will be worth it,’’ said Agus Haryanto.
Haryanto is an international relations lecturer at Jenderal Soedirman University.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has tried to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, visiting the two countries last week on a trip that he described as a peace mission.
He warned last month that a global food crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine would send people in developing and poor countries into the abyss of extreme poverty and hunger.
During a visit to Vietnam on Wednesday, Lavrov suggested that there had been no attempts to stop Russia from participating in G20 meetings.
“If there have been any such attempts, the Indonesian authorities might have ignored them,’’ he said.
Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Teuku Faizasyah, declined to comment on possible walkouts because of Lavrov’s presence at the Bali meeting.
However, he said: “we diplomats should anticipate various scenarios.’’
He said that the summary of what transpired at the meeting might be in the form of a chairperson’s statement from Indonesia.
German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, called for a unified stance against Russia at the meeting.
“It is in the interest of us all to ensure that international law is respected and adhered to.
“It is also the reason why we will not simply leave the floor to Russia,’’ she said in a statement before departing for Bali on Wednesday. (dpa/NAN)
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Tags: Antony Blinken Jenderal Soedirman University Sergei Lavrov
