Russia’s foreign minister left the meeting of major G20 economies soon after telling his counterparts that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was not responsible for a global hunger crisis and that sanctions designed to isolate Russia amounted to to a declaration of war.
Friday’s meeting was Sergei Lavrov’s first direct confrontation with Western leaders since Russia launched its attack on Ukraine, and accused the West of frantic criticism of what it claimed were Moscow’s justified actions.
At a severe, albeit brief, conference at the meeting in Bali hosted by Indonesia, this year’s G20 president, Lavrov said: “If the West does not want talks, but wants Ukraine to defeat Russia on the battlefield, because both opinions have been expressed; then there may be nothing to talk about with the West. “
Lavrov, sitting at the meeting between Saudi Arabia and Mexico, also accused the West of pressuring Ukraine to “use its weapons” in the fighting. It came out at a time when German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was starting to speak.
He then said he had come to Bali to get an impression “of how the west breathes”. Lavrov said it had been obvious that the West did not use the G20 for the purposes for which it was created. Participants in developing countries did not support this approach, he said.
“Aggressors, invaders, occupiers. We have heard many such things today, ”he said as he described the speeches of his Western counterparts. He said some of the speeches were made with theatrical effects, citing Boris Johnson as a prime example. “Well, he resigned, and so be it,” Lavrov said. “Everyone said Russia should be isolated. But so far its own party has isolated Boris Johnson.”
Much of the meeting and discussions on the sidelines were devoted to efforts to persuade Russia to allow the export of Ukrainian grain reserves through an independently controlled safe naval corridor to the Black Sea. But talks, largely led by Turkey and the UN, continue for weeks without any progress.
Lavrov said: “Ukraine should end the blockade of its ports, demining them or ensuring the passage through the minefields.”
After that, Russia and Turkey would ensure the safety of cargo ships outside the sovereign territory of Ukraine so that they could continue into the Mediterranean. But a meeting in Bali between Lavrov and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu did not mean any immediate progress.
Lavrov denied that the dispute was a central factor in the wider global grain shortage, saying blocked grain accounted for 1% of world supply.
Western diplomats say Russia sees stealing grain from Ukraine and blocking its exports as measures designed to weaken the Ukrainian economy and increase the cost to the west of subsidizing the troubled country. In a plenary session, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Moscow to let Ukrainian grain out into the world.
An official said Blinken went directly to Russia and said, “To our Russian colleagues: Ukraine is not your country. Its grain is not your grain. Why are you blocking ports? You should let it out. the grain “.
Lavrov reiterated that Russia could not export its own grain because of Western sanctions, for example because ships were uninsured or could not land in foreign ports.
EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell responded by saying there were no EU sanctions on food. Western leaders refused to join a group photo with Lavrov, but said his presence at the meeting, unlike a boycott, showed a greater willingness to argue rather than assume his alongside other neutral states.
Baerbock, for example, said before the meeting: “I am here as German Foreign Minister with my European colleagues to show that we will not leave the international stage in Russia.”
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Lavrov will have observed more closely the attitude not of the West but of other great powers such as China, Saudi Arabia, and India. Lavrov met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and spoke to him about “the implementation of the main missions of the special military operation” in Ukraine and repeated the Kremlin’s rhetoric that his goal was ” denationalize “the country.
Lavrov’s visit to Bali was also intended to prepare for a possible trip by Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit in November. It is unclear whether Putin will attend in person or on video.
UK Secretary of State Liz Truss left the meeting soon to return to London to campaign for the Prime Minister. He left a Foreign Office official, Sir Tim Barrow, to represent the UK.