Rishi Sunak vows to call out Putin govt at G20 summit as Russia's war of Ukraine drags on

With almost three weeks in the Office, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is all set for his second overseas trip. After his visit to COP27 last week Sunak is going to take part in the G20 summit which is going to be organised in Bali Indonesia in just a few days. On Sunday, the BBC reported that Sunak made his intentions to “call out the Putin’s administration in the recent gathering” 

According to BBC, the British officials were prepared to face the Russian president at the summit which will take place from 15th to 16th November 2020. However last week the Russian Embassy in Indonesia announced that Putin will not attend the event and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will lead the Russian delegates at the G20 summit.  

According to a Downing Street official, the UK PM is expected to join other world leaders in condemning the Russian administration at the event. Addressing the media before leaving for the summit, Sunak asserted, “Putin's war has caused devastation around the world - destroying lives and plunging the international economy into turmoil.”

“The G20 Summit will not be business as usual”: Rishi Sunak 

Making his intentions clear, Sunak said, “This G20 summit will not be business as usual. We will call out Putin's regime, and lay bare their utter contempt for the kind of international cooperation and respect for sovereignty forums like the G20 represent." The situation can be similar to the one that happened earlier this year when many delegates from the Western Bloc staged a walkout at the G7 ministerial meeting held in Germany.

This comes in light of reports that the EU and UK are planning to “do everything possible” to isolate Russia at the G20 Summit. On Friday an EU official told The Telegraph, “We try to work with partners to show very, very, very firmly what the international community thinks about all these crimes, atrocities, and illegal actions by Russia," adding, “That means also discouraging them from meeting (Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov) or from meeting anyone who is leading the Russian delegation or has people walk out when Russia stands to speak." Now that Putin is not going to pay his visit to Indonesia for the Summit, the anger of the Western bloc will be directed towards Lavrov.