G7 ministers boycott russian foreign minister at G20 meeting
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The foreign ministers of the G7 countries didn't come to dinner with their G20 colleagues in Indonesia, and the traditional meeting photo didn't take place due to the presence of the head of the russian foreign ministry, sergey lavrov
European Pravda reports this.
During the preparations for the G20 ministerial meeting on the Indonesian island of Bali, the war in Ukraine and its impact on the world economy dominated the agenda. Western diplomats emphasized that there would be no cooperation at the meeting as before due to the presence of the russian minister.
The Japanese agency Kyodo reported that the traditional group photo session at such meetings didn't occur. "It seems that the US and others avoided a joint photo with russian foreign minister sergey lavrov because of the invasion of Ukraine," the agency reported.
At the beginning of the ministerial meeting, when russian foreign minister lavrov shook hands with his Indonesian colleague Retno Marsudi, people shouted, "When will you stop the war?" and "Why don't you stop the war?"; Reuters reported.
Underscoring the tension, Retno said that her G7 colleagues had warned her that they couldn't join the joint dinner on Thursday, which was attended by lavrov.
A high-ranking official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia told the agency that no communique was expected from the meeting on Friday.
"With the presence and participation of russia, of course, I doubt that a consensus will be reached regarding Ukraine, for example," said a high-ranking official of the US State Department before the summit.
According to Bild, lavrov left the meeting prematurely, before the speech of the German Foreign Minister, who planned to announce that "we do not accept this violation of international law."
Commenting on the ministers refusing to take a joint photo with him, lavrov said that he "didn't invite anyone to take a picture."
"I didn't invite anyone anywhere; I was invited by Indonesia, just as Indonesia invited president putin to the summit, which will be held in November. That's all," he said.
Regarding the G7 ministers not taking part in the dinner, lavrov said that "it is their understanding of the protocol and simply their courtesy, the rules of ethics."
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