G20 Presidency: Indonesia Pressurized to Condemn Russia
Finance ministers and central bank governors of G20 member countries took part in the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting in Washington D.C, United States, on April 20 local time. United States treasury secretary Janet Yellen along with several officials from other countries, walked out of the meeting, protesting over the presence of Russian officials at the meeting. Other officials who also walked out were Bank of Canada governor Tiff Maccklem; Federal Reserve governor Jerome Powell; European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde, and Canadian deputy prime minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland. Freeland even said that Russia should not participate in the meeting due to its invasion of Ukraine. "Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine poses a grave threat to the global economy," Freeland stated on Twitter.
As a response, Indonesia is trying to take a middle ground. Indonesian finance minister Sri Mulyani asked those who attended the 2nd FMCBG forum to come up with a solution to the conflict. "Indonesia will continue to communicate and consult intensively with all G20 members to resolve this issue," she assured. On the other hand, Indonesia is also trying to put the G20 forum back on track, which is to find solutions for economic recovery between developed and developing countries from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and realize cooperation commitments in the financial and non-financial sectors.