WASHINGTON: The G20 held talks in Washington on Thursday, but Russia’s presence in the club made any consensus unlikely despite the multiple crises facing the world.
Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 major economies are gathered in the US capital during annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank that have focused on Russia’s war in Ukraine, soaring inflation and a climate crisis.
But the G20 is unlikely to agree on many issues, with the group now facing tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United States over OPEC+ oil production cuts that Washington fears will further fuel inflation.
Despite the divisions, Western officials said the G20 remains a useful forum.
“Even if there are different opinions — including those that you don’t share, some even that you don’t understand — it’s still a good forum for a conversation,” said German Finance Minister Christian Lindner.
“It is better to have a forum to speak in than none,” he told reporters.But the G20 is expected to close its meeting without a joint communique, as in its previous gatherings presided by Indonesia this year. A press conference is scheduled for later Thursday.
“We could do a communique that doesn’t mention the war in Ukraine, but we don’t want a communique that sweeps things under the rug,” a source close to the discussions told AFP.
While Western nations have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia, other countries have maintained economic ties with Moscow.
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