Janet Yellen, Western officials walk out of G20 meeting in Russia protest
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was among a contingent of Western officials who walked out of a G20 finance ministers meeting Wednesday after their Russian counterpart began speaking, according to reports.
Yellen and her counterparts, including Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, left the closed-door meeting as Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov began addressing the group virtually, CNN reported.
“Alongside our allies the US and Canada, representatives from the UK left the G20 meeting as Russian delegates spoke,” a British finance ministry spokesperson told Reuters.
“We will continue working with our allies to condemn Russia’s war against Ukraine in the strongest terms, and push for stronger international coordination to punish Russia,” the spokesperson added.
Siluanov is among the Russians sanctioned by the Biden administration over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began Feb. 24.
The Treasury Department had said that Yellen planned to boycott several sessions of the G20 meeting — the first gathering of global finance ministers since the attack began – but would attend Wednesday’s opening session to support Ukraine’s finance minister, who had been invited to observe proceedings, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.
Earlier this month, Yellen told members of the House Financial Services Committee that she would not attend the meetings if there was Russian participation.
”President Biden’s made clear, and I certainly agree with him, that it cannot be business as usual for Russia in any of the financial institutions,” Yellen told the panel.
“He’s asked that Russia be removed from the G20 and I’ve made clear to my colleagues in Indonesia that we will not be participating in a number of meetings if the Russians are there,” she said.
The next meeting of G20 world leaders is scheduled to take place in November in Bali.
In addition to the US, the UK, Canada and Russia, the other members of the G20 are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, and the European Union.
Hours after Yellen’s walkout, the Treasury Department announced additional sanctions against Russian banks and oligarchs accused of helping Moscow skirt previous punishments.
With Post wires
