War in Ukraine: Biden backs Russia’s exclusion from G20 group
war in Ukraine
Biden supports Russia’s exclusion from G20 group
NATO has “never been as united as it is today,” says US President Joe Biden. Photo: Michael Kappeler/dpa
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When Putin took Crimea, the G8 became the G7. Russia is still a member of the group of the 20 most important industrial and emerging countries. If Biden has his way, that should change.
US President Joe Biden has spoken out in favor of Russia being excluded from the group of the 20 most important industrialized and emerging countries because of the war of aggression against Ukraine.
That was also discussed at the summit meetings of Western countries in Brussels, said Biden in the Belgian capital. If it doesn’t result in an exclusion of Russia should come, at least Ukraine would have to be invited to the G20 circle, said Biden.
When asked if he was in favor of excluding Russia from the G20group, Biden said: “My answer is yes”. However, the decision depends on the current G20 President Indonesia and the other members – including Russia’s ally China. The next G20 summit is scheduled to take place in Indonesia in the fall.
Russia was expelled from what was then the G8 after capturing the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in 2014. Since then, the largest economies have met in the format of the G7. One of these summits also took place on Thursday in Brussels instead of.
Biden: NATO “never as united as it is today”
Biden traveled to Europe on Wednesday. In addition to the G7 summit, there were also top meetings of NATO and the EU in Brussels Ukraine-War on the agenda. After meetings with heads of state and government, Biden emphasized that one month after the start of the Russian war of aggression, NATO was more united than ever. Russian President Vladimir Putin had counted on NATO being split, he said. But NATO has “never been as united as it is today”. With the invasion of Ukraine, Putin achieved exactly the opposite of what he wanted to achieve.” Because according to Biden, Putin is aiming for a breakup of NATO. “He would rather face 30 independent countries than 30 united countries.”
At the same time, Biden appealed to the Western allies to show staying power in the conflict with Putin. The measures against Russia must be maintained. «Not just next month, the following month, but for the rest of the year. That’s what will stop him.” It’s about “intensifying the pain”. Putin must not think that the allies will be divided within a month or two. The US government announced new measures against Russia on Thursday and imposed sanctions on around hundreds of Russian parliamentarians.
NATO allies are also concerned about what steps Russia might take in the war against Ukraine. The alliance has feared for some time that Russia might be tempted to use weapons of mass destruction given the sluggish progress in the war against Ukraine. “It would trigger a corresponding reaction,” said Biden when asked how NATO would react in this case. But he gave no details.
Biden will continue to Poland on Friday. However, the US government had previously announced that Biden was planning to visit US troops stationed in Poland. Among other things, a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda is planned for Saturday in Warsaw.
