Apr 21 (Nikkei) - Japan's finance minister denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine but did not join Western peers in walking out when the Russian delegation began to speak at a Group of 20 meeting in Washington.
Speaking alongside Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda after the meeting on Thursday, Shunichi Suzuki said he had told G-20 counterparts that the war was a "a clear violation of international law."
"Keeping the peace is indispensable for international cooperation, and Russia's actions in contravention of this are absolutely unacceptable," he said. "I condemn [Russia] in the strongest possible terms."
Multiple Western countries quit the closed-door meeting in protest when the Russian delegation started to talk. Officials who left included U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, as well as Canadian Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Suzuki explained he did not leave the meeting, but he did rebuke Moscow, pointing out that the invasion of Ukraine was the source of many difficulties facing the global economy and that Russia should not participate in G-20 meetings under current circumstances.
Source: ANNnewsCH
