Russia has no moral right to sit at G20, says Britain

Indonesia says Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will attend.

Russia has no moral right to sit at the Group of 20 nations while it presses on with its invasion of Ukraine, a spokesperson for Britain’s foreign ministry said on Friday.

“Russia has no moral right to sit at the G20 while its aggression in Ukraine persists,” the spokesperson said.

“We welcome Indonesia’s efforts to ensure that the impacts of Russia’s war are considered in G20 meetings, as well as indications that Ukraine may be represented by President (Volodymyr) Zelenskiy at the G20 Leaders Summit.”

Indonesia will host the summit in November and has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will attend.

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The G20 or Group of Twenty is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation, and sustainable development.

The G20 is composed of most of the world’s largest economies, including both industrialized and developing nations, and accounts for around 90% of gross world product (GWP), 75–80% of international trade, two-thirds of the global population, and roughly half the world’s land area.

The G20 was founded in 1999[5] in response to several world economic crises. Since 2008, it has convened at least once a year, with summits involving each member’s head of government or state, or finance minister, or foreign minister, and other high-ranking officials; the EU is represented by the European Commission and the European Central Bank.

Other countries, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations are invited to attend the summits, some on a permanent basis.