The United Kingdom, the United States and Canada have organized a coordinated exit from the G20 in protest of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine amid a growing risk of division between leading countries that have affected the world economy.
Representatives of the three countries left the session while Russian delegates spoke at the meeting in Washington. Sources said that the Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey and a senior official of the Ministry of Finance are among those who are leaving the negotiations.
The omission of the session, which took place on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund’s spring meetings, came amid growing fears that the collapse in international relations would seriously undermine the global pandemic recovery and contribute to rising inflation, pushing millions more into the world. poverty around the world.
In comments made shortly before the protest, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva warned that 75 years of development are at risk of splitting international co-operation.
Asked about reports of potentially leaving the G20 summit, Georgieva said the world had reached a “turning point” in global partnerships to tackle a number of issues, including the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the climate emergency and growing poverty.
“Obviously, there are many, many disturbing facts that we have to deal with. “I can honestly say I never thought I would survive another war in Europe on the scale of this one,” she said.
“We also recognize how interdependent we are. Just make a list of questions – no country can decide [them] alone. It is so obvious that cooperation must and will continue. “
The refusal came as Western leaders challenged Russia’s membership in the G20’s group of leading economies, which includes the United States, Britain, France and Germany, as well as powerful developing countries including China, Brazil and India.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak tweeted that representatives of the United Kingdom had left the meeting. “We are united in our condemnation of Russia’s war against Ukraine and will push for stronger international coordination to punish Russia,” he said.
Sources said the United Kingdom, the United States and other Western countries were pushing for a consensus on Russia’s continued membership in the G20 and had questioned the presence of Kremlin officials.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told those present that she did not approve of the presence of a senior Russian official, according to Reuters. The US Treasury Department said earlier Wednesday that Yellen had met with Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Indonesia’s finance minister – who currently holds the rotating G20 presidency – to stress that “there will be no regular business for Russia in the world economy. “
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Mohamed El-Erian, a former deputy director of the IMF who is now president of Queens College, Cambridge, said the blast showed the G20 was not functioning as an international body.
“The future of multilateralism is at stake at a time when we need it most,” El-Erian said, urging governments to continue working together through alternative means.
“The G20 is too divided and lacks continuity. It’s always been a puzzle to me why there is no secretariat. You go through presidency after presidency, it changes every time. So very little is being done, “he said.
“The only exception was the London Summit in April 2009 under the leadership of Gordon Brown, that was the only exception. The G7 is too narrow in terms of membership. In terms of your existing instruments, this is a reformed and revised IMF and World Bank.
The IMF said on Tuesday that risks to the global economy were rising as Russia’s war in Ukraine boosted inflation.
The Washington-based fund said the war had increased the risk of more permanent fragmentation of the global economy into geopolitical blocs. Such a “tectonic change” would lead to high adjustment costs for the global economy, it said.
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