A US Treasury official said today, that the United States will boycott some meetings of the G-20 finance ministers meeting, if Russia participates in them.
However, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, representing the United States at the event scheduled for Wednesday, will attend the opening dedicated to the global economy.
The United States does not want the presence of Russian officials in the G20 to hinder the group’s work, a senior Treasury official said.
“But the appointment cannot be a meeting like other meetings of Russia,” whose finance minister will actually participate in some of the sessions, he added.
Therefore, he warned that the United States and its allies would “continue their efforts” to increase economic pressure on Russia, and would target those trying to circumvent sanctions against Moscow.
The US position comes on top of an earlier statement by the French Economy Ministry, which warned that many G7 countries may withdraw from the G20 meeting when Russia speaks.
According to press reports, some Western countries want to exclude Russia from the G20. But Indonesia, which chairs the group this year, remains “neutral”.
The G20 financial group will be held in Washington as part of the week of the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings and will bring together ministers and central bank governors of the countries that make up the group, including Russia, in a mixed fashion.
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