Bali: Penny Wong has blasted Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine in an address to foreign ministers from around the world including Russia’s Sergei Lavrov, saying Moscow must be held to account or “the cost will be borne by all of us”.

Wong was among a series of foreign ministers who rose in Friday’s G20 summit to denounce Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as the conflict in Europe dominated the agenda on the Indonesian island.

Penny Wong at Friday’s G20 meeting in Bali.Credit:Johannes P Christo

Lavrov also spoke at the meeting, attempting to defend Russia’s actions in Ukraine, but was met with fierce condemnation of its deadly campaign from G7 nations and like-minded countries such as Australia.

“Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified and illegal invasion of Ukraine is not only the cause of untold loss of life and damage,” Wong told the meeting.

“It is not only a primary cause of the global energy and food security crisis wreaking havoc on our economies and pushing millions more of the world’s people into severe food insecurity.

“It is also a profound breach of trust. And it is up to all nations to hold this breach to account, or the cost will be borne by all of us.

“This is why Russia’s aggression cannot be normalised and it cannot be minimised.”

Wong was due to hold long-awaited talks with China counterpart Wang Yi on Friday night but her attention was squarely on Russia and Lavrov, Putin’s long-time top diplomat, as foreign ministers came together at a luxury resort in Nusa Dua.

She said Russia was not only trying to decide the fate of Ukraine but “the fate of the international system”.

“Russia alone is responsible for its actions and needs to end the conflict and the human and economic suffering it is causing,” she said.

“We have all benefited from the multilateral system. We all will pay the price if we allow it to falter.”

Russia’s Sergei Lavrov arrives at the summit.Credit:AFP

Lavrov, who was positioned between delegates from Mexico and Saudi Arabia during the meeting, left late in the session after giving his own three-minute speech to hold bilateral talks with India Minister for External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

Speaking at a news conference, he accused Western countries of not following the G20’s global economic mandate, saying they “strayed almost immediately, as soon as they took the floor, to the frenzied criticism of the Russian Federation in connection with the situation in Ukraine. ‘Aggressors’, ‘invaders’, ‘occupiers’ – we heard a lot of things today,” Lavrov said.

“There is only a rabid Russophobia, which does not replace the need to negotiate the key issues.”

Asked about Australia’s slamming of the war, he replied: “If Australia is so much concerned about what is going on thousands and thousands of kilometres from Australia before providing any comments, I would suggest that Australia takes a look at volumes of documents which describe the reasons for the situation in Ukraine as it evolves now.

Wong is greeted by Indonesia’s Retno Marsudi on Friday.Credit:Reuters

“I don’t have the slightest doubt that your embassy in Moscow, faced with the reports, would learn about the origins about this conflict which was evolving for many, many years. If those reports are ignored in Canberra, that’s not my problem.”

Putin has frequently tried to justify its “special military operation” in Ukraine with highly disputed claims that genocide had been committed against the Russian-speaking population of the eastern Donbas region and it was attempting to “de-Nazify” the country.

But with thousands of civilians having died, the United Nations this week reported growing evidence of unlawful killings and summary executions being carried out by Russian troops.

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not meet in Bali with Lavrov, who said “if they don’t want to talk, that’s their choice”.

“It was not us who abandoned contact. It was the United States,” Lavrov said. “We are not running after anybody suggesting meetings.”

Friday’s meeting, which was focused on multilateralism and global food challenges, was also addressed virtually by Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

Arriving for the meeting, Wong had blasted Putin, who had boasted to Russian parliamentary leaders in a speech overnight that Moscow was just getting started in Ukraine.

“Let’s remember what’s behind those tough words shall we,” Wong said. “What’s behind them are the deaths of men, women and children. The attack on civilians. The use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war. So let everybody remember what Mr Putin is talking about when he uses those words.”

Lavrov was earlier met with cries of “When will you stop the war?” by reporters as he made a red-carpet arrival and was greeted by Indonesia Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.

On Thursday night, foreign ministers from G7 nations, including Blinken, bypassed a welcome reception at which Lavrov was present. Wong did attend, to demonstrate support for Indonesia’s G20 presidency this year, although she left immediately after Retno’s welcome address.

Despite outrage at Putin’s invasion, host Indonesia managed to draw all G20 members to the meeting on Friday except British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who left Bali early to return to London following the resignation of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Japan Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and his delegation were also seen driving off from the hotel hosting the summit at midday on Friday, having been rocked by news of the shooting of former leader Shinzo Abe in Japan.

“It is our responsibility to end the war sooner than later and settle our differences at the negotiating table, not at the battlefield,” Retno told the meeting.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.

Most Viewed in World

From our partners

Source: Read Full Article