China's Foreign Ministry said on February 21 that the purpose of the G20 forum is to discuss global economic cooperation issues and should not be used as a platform to amplify geopolitical disagreements.
Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a working session on food and energy security during the G20 Summit, November 15, 2022 in Nusa Dua, Indonesia.
The intergovernmental summit, which begins on February 21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, serves as the first major gathering of key foreign ministers this year.
The G20 Brazil website listed a number of topics to be discussed, including “the situation in the Middle East and Russia’s offensive in Ukraine” – situations it said had led to international concern “about the humanitarian crisis as well as the geopolitical and economic consequences of the conflicts”.
However, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, such topics have never been within the purview of the G20.
“The G20 is the leading forum for international economic cooperation, not a place to resolve geopolitical and security issues,” spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press conference. “This is the consensus of the G20,” she said, adding that she expected the meeting of foreign ministers to “contribute to global economic growth.”
Moscow had previously objected to Ukraine's security being part of the summit's agenda, saying in a statement issued by its foreign ministry that the issue was “not core” for the G20.
“ The Russian delegation intends to draw the partners' particular attention to the unacceptable politicization of the G20, which by its mandate is designed to focus strictly on socio-economic challenges,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said on its website.
The statement went on to say that the inclusion of the “Ukrainian issue,” which Moscow said was “on the G20 agenda at the instigation of the West,” could only be interpreted as “destructive.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov traveled to Brazil for the event, which was also attended by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. However, no formal meeting between the two countries' top diplomats has been scheduled.
At the last G20 in India in September, the group issued a leaders’ statement that did not condemn Moscow for its attack in Ukraine but highlighted the human suffering it caused and called on all sides to refrain from using nuclear weapons. Mr Lavrov later praised the consensus.
Speaking to Brazil's O Globo newspaper, Mr Lavrov said that “Russia is ready to resolve the conflict peacefully” but that until “anti-Russian policies” in Kiev and the entire West are abandoned, “Moscow's decisions will be based on our national interests”.
Source
Comment (0)