At the G20 summit, Rishi Sunak rallied to hold Russia to account
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The new British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, decided to give himself a spectacular benefit at the G20 summit opening next week and promised to “hold Russia to account”.
The British Prime Minister travels to the island of Bali in Indonesia for the annual summit of world leaders. According to Sky News, Rishi Sunak vowed to “hold Russia to account” at the G20 leaders’ meeting over the devastating effects of the conflict in Ukraine.
The prime minister will fly to Indonesia on Sunday ahead of talks with world leaders including US President Joe Biden, French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
As you know, Russian President Vladimir Putin does not plan to attend the summit. It was announced that Moscow at the event in Bali will be represented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The annual meetings were originally organized in response to the 2008 financial crisis, cementing the summit as the premier global forum for economic cooperation.
But Rishi Sunak warned that this year’s summit – the first since conflict broke out in Ukraine in February – will not be “business as usual.”
The G20 meeting comes at a time when the world is facing its most serious set of economic challenges since 2008.
Negotiations will be dominated by the aftermath of the Ukraine conflict, which has wreaked havoc on the global economy and fueled skyrocketing energy and food prices.
In a statement before Rishi’s departure, Sunak issued a series of harsh attacks on the Russian leadership and warned that “this G20 summit will not be business as usual.”
“The UK and our allies will work together to make significant progress on the economic challenges we face and to improve the lives of our people,” the British prime minister said.
Rishi Sunak, who took over from ill-fated predecessor Liz Truss less than three weeks ago, faces a week of testing both internationally and at home in the UK, where he is set to unveil his long-awaited fall budget on Thursday, Sky News notes.
The budget announcement could see Chancellor Jeremy Hunt introduce up to £60bn in tax hikes and spending cuts as the government tries to balance spending and revenue and bring down inflation.
Speaking of Rishi Sunak’s big foreign policy debut, The Guardian notes that Russia’s G20 membership means British officials admit it will be next to impossible for leaders to agree on a summit communique at all: will call into question how the group itself can continue to function fully. World leaders will not even take part in the official “family photo” during the meeting at the summit due to the general discomfort of the presence of Russia.”
“It is clear that the Prime Minister believes that it would be right for us, together with our allies, to confront any Russian official … who visits the G20,” a 10 Downing Street spokesman said.
Rishi Sunak’s own foreign policy views remain something of a mystery and have always been defined by his role as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the past. Some of his critics say he tends to take a softer approach to China. Government sources say Sunak’s key goal is to reaffirm Britain’s support for Ukraine, especially due to the scale of the recent political upheaval in the UK and Boris Johnson’s exceptional reputation among Ukrainians. The current British prime minister is going to use his first speech at the first leaders’ meeting on Tuesday to discuss Russia’s actions directly.
There is also a domestic political factor – Johnson’s allies have claimed that Sunak, while still chancellor, voiced warnings about Russian sanctions at the beginning of the Ukraine conflict, and now Sunak will seek to dispel any doubts.
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