Russia-Ukraine War takes Centre Stage at Bali G-20 Summit

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says Western allies have “highlighted both the illegality and barbaric nature of Russia’s war” at the G20 summit in Bali.

“This morning at the G20, we saw international condemnation of Russia’s war in Ukraine. And with Russia’s foreign minister sitting there, we highlighted both the illegality and barbaric nature of Russia’s war.

“And also the devastating impact it’s having on people around the world through higher food and energy prices.

“We have a responsibility to work with our G20 allies to fix the global economy, to grip inflation, but also to safeguard and preserve the international order, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

A spokesperson for Sunak said the prime minister spoke to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and hopes the two nations can work together to help stabilise energy markets.

While a draft declaration by leaders of the G20 said “most” members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine, Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, said the West is pushing a line on behalf of nations.

“Yes, our Western colleagues tried in every way to make that declaration politicised and tried to push through language that implied condemning the actions of the Russian Federation on behalf of the entire G20, which includes us,” Lavrov said.

“But let’s do this in a fair way, and let’s make it clear that, on this topic, we have differences.”

“Yes, there is a war going on in Ukraine, a hybrid war that the West has unleashed and been preparing for years,” Lavrov added.

The war has overshadowed the summit despite calls from host Indonesia for unity and to focus on action to resolve global economic problems such as inflation and food and energy security.

The secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, says that Western-supplied arms and foreign mercenaries were priority targets for Russia’s forces fighting in Ukraine, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

“Lethal weapons supplied to Ukraine, as well as foreign mercenaries fighting on the Ukrainian side, are priority targets for the Russian Armed Forces,” Patrushev said in Bryansk at a meeting on security issues in central Russia.

Patrushev added that Ukrainian reconnaissance and sabotage groups had been seen in border regions.