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Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, right, and Central Bank Governor Perry Warjiyo attend a press conference at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting Sonny Tumbelaka/Pool Photo via AP/PA

G20 finance talks end divided as response to Russia dominates discussion

Finance chiefs looked for solutions to food and energy crises while accusing Russian technocrats of exacerbating problems.

A TWO-DAY MEETING of finance ministers from the Group of 20 major economies ended today without a joint communiqué after Russia’s war in Ukraine divided the global forum.

During talks on the Indonesian resort island Bali, the finance chiefs looked for solutions to food and energy crises while accusing Russian technocrats of exacerbating the problems.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland blamed the invasion of Ukraine for sending a shockwave through the global economy.

In place of a formal communiqué, a 14-paragraph statement is being issued by Indonesia, the G20 chair’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said in closing remarks.

She said there was consensus on most of the document but two paragraphs would focus on members’ differences regarding the war’s impacts and how to respond.

“I think this is the best result,” she said.

At the beginning of the second day of talks, Indonesian central bank governor Perry Warjiyo called on ministers and global finance leaders to concentrate on recovery in a world economy reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The meeting took place after the International Monetary Fund slashed its global growth forecast, with another downgrade expected this month as US inflation stokes fears of a recession.

But the talks have been overshadowed by the Ukraine war after it roiled global markets, caused rising food prices and added to breakneck inflation.

The Kremlin calls the war a “special military operation” and blames retaliatory Western sanctions for blocking food shipments and rising energy prices.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko participated virtually in the meeting.

Russian Deputy Finance Minister Timur Maksimov attended the talks in person a week after Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov walked out of a G20 meeting over Western criticism of the invasion.

Maksimov was in the room as Western officials expressed their condemnation, according to a source present. Marchenko called for “more severe targeted sanctions” against Moscow.

Indonesia has refrained from uninviting Russia from G20 meetings, including a leaders’ summit in November, even as Western nations repeated their calls for Moscow to be frozen out of the group.

Both Yellen and Freeland, who has Ukrainian heritage, said representatives of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government had no place at talks.

Observers said the failure to agree on a joint communique would hinder coordinated efforts to solve rising inflation and food shortages.

“The lack of a G20 finance ministers’ communique means it will be more difficult for the G20 to forge a consensus on vital issues in the fall,” said Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network, an NGO that lobbies for developing nation debt relief.

“Internal divisions hinder the G20′s ability to act decisively and leaves the world in uncharted waters.”

Yellen held bilateral meetings with counterparts from Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Australia, Singapore and Turkey, the Treasury said, lobbying their support for a price cap on Russian oil to cut off Putin’s war chest.

In response to the food crisis, the IMF, World Bank, World Food Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Trade Organization also called for action in four areas.

“Support the vulnerable, facilitate trade, boost food production & invest in climate-resilient agriculture,” IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva tweeted late yesterday, summarising the call to action.

Members also discussed sustainable finance, cryptocurrencies and international taxation on Saturday.

Mulyani said “progress” was made on international tax rule changes that will set a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15% by 2024.

© AFP 2022

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    Mute Nomis Andrews
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    Jul 14th 2022, 10:44 PM

    In Spain now. Love the heat

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Jul 14th 2022, 11:06 PM

    @Nomis Andrews: I have a funny feeling ye might be a firefighter in Spain. Am I right?

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    Mute Paul Gorry
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    Jul 15th 2022, 2:14 AM

    @Paul Gorry: ahhh jayus” Not”.bleeding gargle .

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    Mute Nora McElhinney
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    Jul 14th 2022, 11:52 PM

    Jeez better raise the carbon taxes in ireland – that’ll sort it (NOT!!!!!)

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    Mute Alan Biddulph
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    Jul 15th 2022, 8:11 AM

    @Nora McElhinney: zzzzz …Just be glad they don’t have a tax on stoopidity Nora.

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    Mute mmz
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    Jul 15th 2022, 7:18 AM

    Ah, it’s only other people’s lives, homes and jobs lads so why not make a joke of climate destruction. It hasn’t come to your door yet so party on boys!!!! At least the reported 10 billion dollars that the fossil fuel industry is spending on the public relations industry world wide to re assure us that climate change is not happening is being well spent on promoting fantasy comments like yours.

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    Mute Passenger Oshee
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    Jul 14th 2022, 11:41 PM

    Wildfires spreading like ..?

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    Mute Sean Walsh
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    Jul 15th 2022, 11:32 AM

    I presume people know that almost all wildfires are started either accidentally or deliberately by humans and not the weather ? Fires caused by lightning strikes are very rare. Sure the vegetation is extremely dry due to prolonged dry weather, but it still wouldn’t catch fire only for an ignition source provided by stupid human activity.

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
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    Jul 15th 2022, 12:23 PM

    @Sean Walsh: Also true. Only a while ago I noticed a Dublin Fire Brigade warning that even parking on dry grass could start a fire – because of the heat of an exhaust pipe. It’s Portugal I feel most sorry for – they have vast areas of pine forests. Or had.

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    Mute mmz
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    Jul 15th 2022, 3:30 PM

    Whether or not wildfires are started by humans the extreme problems of putting them out are due to climate change as is arctic / antarctic warming and loss of ice as are the droughts caused by glacier ice melts worldwide as is the disturbance in the jet stream which is causing global weather weirding etc. etc. Why don’t you mention that this also is human caused…..because it does not fit your climate action denial / delay agenda?

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