U.S. expects G20 to condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine – U.S. official

NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Reuters) – The United States expects the G20 group of industrialized nations to condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine and its impact on the global economy at the conclusion of a leaders meeting in Bali, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday.

Briefing reporters ahead of President Joe Biden’s participation in the summit, the official said most nations in the group had come together during talks in recent days and agreed that Russia’s war in Ukraine should be “condemned in the strongest possible terms.”

The group of 20 nations includes Russia, so a consensus on the conflict in Ukraine is unlikely, and the official declined to say what form the condemnation would take or how it would refer to the war in Ukraine, which Russia describes as a “special military operation.”

“I won’t get ahead of the final negotiations but the G20 will make clear that Russia’s war is wreaking havoc for people everywhere and for the global economy as a whole,” said the official, who spoke about the U.S. view on the summit on condition of anonymity.

The official said most G20 nations agreed that the war in Ukraine was “the root of the economic suffering and instability that we see in many parts of the world.”

The nations would also make announcements on initiatives, including a pandemic fund, reform of multilateral development banks and food and energy security, the official said.

(Reporting by Simon Lewis, Nandita Bose and Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Bradley Perrett)