Asheville (United States) (AFP) – EU economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis said Tuesday that it is not the time to “normalize” Moscow’s presence at G20 meetings, as European leaders pushed back against the Russian finance minister’s attendance at ongoing talks.
“I think the European position is known,” the Latvian official said on the sidelines of the US-hosted finance leaders’ gathering in Asheville, North Carolina. “We do not think now is the time to normalize Russia” or its presence at such talks. He noted that Russia’s inclusion entails discussing sensitive economic matters with representatives of a government that is “waging an aggressive war” and “killing civilians on a daily basis” in its war in Ukraine.
Dombrovskis’ comments come as Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors are opening a second day of meetings with issues like economic “imbalances” on the agenda. This is likely to hit at concerns over China’s excess industrial capacity and what Washington deems “unfair trading practices.” China is also a G20 member. With the United States holding the rotating G20 presidency, Washington is also rallying partners towards greater economic pressure on Iran and finding ways to boost growth.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that Washington would likely announce a bank sanction this week, and one the week after, vowing again to choke Tehran economically.
– ‘Clear’ stance on Ukraine –
The finance leaders of major global economies are gathered Monday and Tuesday in this Blue Ridge Mountains city. But their talks have been overshadowed by the US-Israel war with Iran, President Donald Trump’s tariffs, and European leaders’ frustrations over the unexpected attendance of Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. Siluanov’s appearance, after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, sparked protests from European leaders who have sought to isolate Moscow on the world stage. A traditional “family photo” of officials was taken Monday without Siluanov, and away from credentialed media, as European officials declined to appear in a picture with their Russian counterpart.
Moscow has intensified its strikes on Kyiv this summer. US-brokered talks remain frozen while the Kremlin has maintained its maximalist demands to end the war. German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told reporters Tuesday: “In recent weeks and months, we are witnessing an increase in brutal rocket attacks on the civilian population.” “This all has to come to an end,” he added. Klingbeil said that he and other European ministers “made our position on Ukraine absolutely clear.” As G7 leaders met late Monday, he said Ukraine’s finance minister joined remotely for talks on support for Kyiv. Siluanov also held a bilateral meeting with Bessent in Asheville.
– Breakthroughs tough –
The G20 comprises 19 nations plus the EU and the African Union and was established in the wake of the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis to boost global economic and financial stability. With all eyes on the group’s ability to tackle major economic issues together, US officials have been pushing to reach agreement on a final joint communique. The G20 finance talks also set the stage for a leaders’ summit that Trump will convene in December in Miami.
Yet, “very few recent G20 meetings have produced significant breakthroughs, and it’s unlikely that this one will,” said James Lindsay of the Council on Foreign Relations think tank. Lindsay told AFP there are “significant differences” among G20 ministers, including over how to deal with China’s excess manufacturing capacity and with Iran sanctions. Washington’s invitation of Siluanov “certainly doesn’t help US efforts to enlist the Europeans” in piling further pressure on Iran or fostering acceptance of Trump’s economic policies, he added.
There is also unhappiness over the exclusion of G20 member South Africa this year, Lindsay said. Even as leaders may find agreement on topics like artificial intelligence on the formal US agenda, there remain big differences between Washington and Beijing as well as with its allies, including neighboring Canada, he added.
© 2024 AFP
