G20 world leaders’ summit risks paralysis due to Russian invasion of Ukraine

With Moscow holding a veto, members are expected to be unable to agree communiqué, writes Andrew Woodcock

G20 (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

When Rishi Sunak arrives for the G20 summit of world leaders in Bali on Monday, he will be joining a group in the throes of deep uncertainty about the point of its existence.

Founded in 1999, the group has held annual meetings since the financial crisis of 2008, as a forum for the world’s 19 leading national economies and the European Union to discuss coordination of economic policy in response to global shocks.

But the biggest shock currently impacting on the world’s economy was created by one of the G20 states itself – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has driven spiralling energy prices, inflationary spikes, food shortages and recession around the globe.