Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend the next G20 summit despite calls from Poland for Russia to be expelled after China dismissed the country’s objections voiced in response to the Russia’s “special military operation” – called an invasion by most – in Ukraine.
Poland called for Russia to be expelled from the G20, an intergovernmental group of 19 nations and the European Union, as another act of reprisal for the Ukraine war. As Ukraine’s neighbor, Poland is experience a refugee crisis as millions of Ukrainians pour across the border fleeing the conflict.
“The G20 is the main forum for international economic cooperation,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin. He then declared that, in China’s view, “Russia is an important member” of G20, “and no member has the right to expel another country.”
China is among the few countries that have not condemned Russia’s “special military operation” in Russia, and has not participated in sanctions against the country.
It was reported that prior to the conflict, Russia asked China for military and economic assistance in the war against Ukraine. It was not reported whether China agreed, however, Russia has increasingly looked toward China for banking and technology solutions after being cut off by the West.
China also recently characterized the Western sanctions against Russia as increasingly “outrageous.”
Reuters reported that the United States responded positively to Poland’s call for Russia to be kicked out of G20, but Newsweek noted that “Any collective decision to that effect is likely to be vetoed by Beijing and other governments with closer working relations with Moscow.”
At the same time, Reuters reports that Putin is planning to attend the next G20 summit this November, quoting the Russian Ambassador to India.
As hinted by Newsweek, China is not the only nation undermining Western sanctions by either continuing or strengthening its relationship with Russia.
Valiant News recently reported that India was working on an alternative payment system that would allow it to continue trading with Russia while bypassing the U.S. dollar, despite it being the world reserve currency.
The plan would see Russia paying for Indian goods in rubles and India paying for Russian goods in rupees. Without the deal, India fears it would experience food insecurity, as it depends on trade with Russia for cooking oils and fertilizer.
Brazil, which has historically had close relations with the West, also refused to condemn Russia’s military action in Ukraine in the United Nations.
Russia invaded Ukraine one month ago today after a years long standoff over the disputed Donbass region. Russia claims it launched a “special military operation” to protect ethnic Russians from Ukrainian state violence, while Ukraine and much of the international community call it an invasion and say that Putin’s
