Host Indonesia has urged G20 leaders gathered in Bali to make progress countering the threats to the global economy from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, warning that the conflict's humanitarian fallout could be catastrophic.
Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said hopes are high that the G20 can meet the challenges stemming from the threat of war, spiking commodity prices, and fallout hampering poorer countries' ability to repay debt.
"We are acutely aware that the cost of our failure to work together is more than we can afford. The humanitarian consequences for the world, and especially for many low-income countries would be catastrophic," she said.
Some Western ministers began their visit with criticism of Russia at the talks, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen saying President Vladimir Putin's "brutal and unjust war" is the primary factor behind the world's current economic crisis.
Sri Mulyani urged members to "build bridges between each other" to solve the raft of current problems.
The G20 includes countries that have imposed unprecedented sanctions against Russia and accuse its forces of war crimes in Ukraine but also countries like China, India, and South Africa, which have avoided stern measures in response to the invasion.
Russian Deputy Finance Minister Timur Maksimov addressed the G20 meeting in person, while Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov reportedly took part virtually.
"It's no secret that there were very frank statements being made [in the meeting], yet what matters is we are at the moment of enormous distress and disruption in our global economy as well as our geopolitical context," Reuters quoted Achim Steiner, a UN Development Program administrator who attended one of the sessions, as saying.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov walked out of a G20 session in Bali last week, blaming "frenzied criticism" of Russia for his exit.
