G20 Finance Chiefs To Hold Parley To Resolve Internal Rift

Finance chiefs of the Group of 20 major economies will likely do little more than highlight the deep rift that has formed among member nations next week when the forum holds its first ministerial-level meeting since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Kyodo News reported.

Photo Insert: Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that the G-20 is an important format but his nation's exclusion would not be "fatal" given most members are "in a state of economic war with us,"

G20 members, including Russia and the United States, have a plethora of issues to negotiate if they hope to pull the world's economy out of the COVID-19-induced doldrums and mitigate the impact of the Ukraine crisis.

US President Joe Biden said in late March that Russia should be expelled from the G20 framework as a response to its invasion of Ukraine and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said last week the United States will boycott some G20 meetings if Russian officials show up.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has reportedly confirmed he will attend the gathering virtually, which means a clash is likely.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that the G20 is an important format but his nation's exclusion would not be "fatal" given most members are "in a state of economic war with us," according to Russia's TASS news agency.

The G20 meeting involving finance ministers and central bank governors will convene on Wednesday on the sidelines of the spring sessions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) in Washington.

"The G20 has played a role in identifying global problems and raising awareness of them," Atsushi Takeda, a chief economist of the Itochu Research Institute, said. "But this time, whether it can function is entirely dependent on who will be at the meeting."

The potential division among members, who represent 80 percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP), would serve as a significant setback at a time when coordinated efforts are vital to address emerging and ongoing challenges, economists say.

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