However, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, US representative at the event scheduled for Wednesday, will attend the opening dedicated to analyze the global economy.
The United States does not want the presence of Russian officials in the G20 to impede the group’s work, according to statements by a senior Treasury official.
“But the appointment cannot be a meeting like others for Russia,” whose finance minister will participate virtually in some sessions, she added.
Therefore, the United States and its allies “will continue their efforts” to increase economic pressure on Russia and target those who try to circumvent sanctions against Moscow, she warned.
The US stance comes on top of a previous statement from France’s Economy Ministry, which warned that several G7 countries could walk out of the G20 meeting when Russia speaks.
According to press reports, some Western nations want to exclude Russia from the G20; but Indonesia, which chairs the group this year, remains “impartial.”
The G20 Finance meeting will be held in Washington as part of the week of spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank and will bring together the ministers and central bankers of the countries that make up the group, including Russia, in a hybrid way.
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