Argentina “does not support the separation of Russia” from the G20

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On May 3, Argentina’s Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero said that the government of Alberto Fernandez does not agree with the idea of “separating” Russia from the G20, a forum of which the South American country is also a member.

“Argentina does not accompany the separation of Russia from the G20 because we believe in multilateralism, and multilateralism is made with countries sitting at the table,” Cafiero said when appearing this Tuesday before the Foreign Relations Committee of the Argentine Senate.

Following a question from an opposition senator, the Argentine foreign minister said that “the G20, which is a strictly economic forum, must work on the world’s economies” and insisted that “a priori, Argentina does not agree with practicing multilateralism without countries.”

Cafiero pointed out that countries such as Argentina “must continue to call for peace and the dialogue table and institutional mechanisms, agreements, and diplomacy to be present when trying to resolve this conflict.”

“The priority is to save lives,” asserted Cafiero, who recalled that Argentina does not have norms that would allow it to apply sanctions on its own against Russia for its military operation in Ukraine.

The official also pointed out that Argentina is “one of the few countries in Latin America” that sent humanitarian aid to Poland to assist Ukrainian refugees and that the South American country has already received 120 Ukrainian refugees with humanitarian visas.

THE DEBATE OVER RUSSIA’S MEMBERSHIP IN THE G20

Indonesia – which currently holds the G20 Presidency – has invited the President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, to the G20 leaders’ summit to be held next November on the island of Bali, which his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin also plans to attend.

Despite pressure from countries such as Australia, Canada, and the United States for Putin to be vetoed at the summit that brings together the 20 largest economies in the world, Indonesia has so far maintained its invitation to the Russian leader.

Finance chiefs from Canada, the United States, France, and the European Union – among other countries – walked out of a G20 meeting in Washington two weeks ago in protest against Russia’s presence and its military operation in Ukraine. Russia was already expelled last decade from the group of industrialized economies then known as G8, renamed G7, after its military operation in Crimea in 2014.

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