G7 will not ‘fully’ boycott Russia – media

Countries from the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations will not fully boycott the G20 finance ministers’ meetings in Washington DC this week, which includes participation of Russia, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing sources.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, who has been targeted by US sanctions, is expected to virtually attend the conference on Wednesday.

An unnamed US Treasury Department official told the newspaper that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will attend the opening session of the G20 to show support for Ukraine’s finance minister, who has flown from Kiev to the conference. Yellen will skip other sessions over Russia’s presence, the official said, adding she will press to shut Russia out of global financial institutions.

Meanwhile, “the smaller G7 group, mostly close US allies, has been more unified in condemning Russia,” the newspaper reports. It has noted that as countries such as China and India have grown in economic might, Western leaders have increasingly been forced to collaborate with them to sway the global economic system. “That has raised the relevance of the larger G20, though that body remains harder for the United States to influence.”

The Post pointed out that many of the world’s wealthiest nations, including much of Europe, remain heavily dependent on Russian oil and natural gas, highlighting how “deeply entangled” Russia’s economy is with the rest of the world, despite the severe sanctions the United States and its allies have imposed.

The G7 countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US. The G20 is composed of 20 of the world’s largest economies. US President Joe Biden has previously called for expelling Russia from the G20 over the country’s military operation in Ukraine.

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