JOIN USOn Ukraine war anniversary, Bengaluru to witness US-led West slamming Russia
Bengaluru is set to witness this week the United States and other western nations slamming Russia on the first anniversary of the launch of the former Soviet Union nation’s “special military operations” in Ukraine.
When Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Shaktikanta Das, host their counterparts from the other G20 nations in Bengaluru on February 24 and 26 next, the US and the rest of the West are likely to use the opportunity to condemn Russia for its military aggression against Ukraine and its impact on the global economy.
Moscow has not yet confirmed Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov’s participation in the meeting in Bengaluru. President Vladimir Putin’s government may rather opt for a low-key representation, anticipating sharpened attacks from western nations as the meeting is scheduled to take place on the first anniversary of the launch of Russia’s “special military operations” in Ukraine.
India, which now holds the G20 presidency, will, however, seek to continue with its strategic balancing between the decades-old partnership with Russia and expanding ties with the US and other western nations. With the meeting in Bengaluru being the first major event to be hosted by the Government of India after it took over the presidency of the premier forum for international financial, economical and developmental cooperation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government does not want it to be turned into a forum for bashing Russia for the war against Ukraine.
New Delhi wants the meeting of the finance ministers and the central bank governors in Bengaluru to focus more on global financial and macroeconomic stability and debt-relief for vulnerable nations. A source in New Delhi said that the Russia-Ukraine conflict is real issue that might result in differences within the G20, but, as the chair, India would like the talks to stay focussed on what it was created for — finding pragmatic and meaningful ways to address key global economic issues.
The US Treasury Secretary, Janet L Yellen, will travel to Bengaluru to attend the meeting. She will join with allies in holding Russia accountable for its “illegal invasion” of Ukraine and partner with countries to mitigate the spillover effects of the war, according to the US Department of Treasury. She will highlight the resilience of the US and the global economy “in the face of headwinds including Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine”. She will also engage with “partners to address challenges and build a stronger, more resilient, global economy.”
Yellen is likely to extend US support to India’s proposal for the G20 to persuade China, the largest sovereign creditor of the world, and other lenders to take a large haircut on loans to distressed nations. She is also expected to seek greater support for Ukraine, which is resisting the military offensive of Russia for the past 12 months.
The meeting of the G20 finance ministers and the central bank governors in Bengaluru will be followed by another conclave of the foreign ministers of the bloc’s member nations in New Delhi early next month. Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, and Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, are expected to attend the event, which will be hosted by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
The Prime Minister will host the G20 leaders for the summit in New Delhi on September 9 and 10.