‘End this barbaric war’: Rishi Sunak confronts Russia over Ukraine at G20 summit

Prime minister brands invasion ‘illegal’ in front of Putin’s foreign minister

Rishi Sunak has delivered a sharp rebuke to Russia at the G20summit of world leaders in Indonesia, telling Vladimir Putin to “end this barbaric war”.

Facing Putin’s foreign secretary Sergei Lavrov across the conference table, Mr Sunak denounced the invasion of Ukraine as “illegal” and described Russia’s weaponization of food and energy supplies as “unacceptable”.

It was the first time a UK prime minister has gone face-to-face with a representative of the Moscow regime since the start of the invasion in February, and came a day after Mr Sunak described Putin’s Russia as a “pariah state”.

Mr Lavrov has been isolated at the annual gathering of the world’s most influential economies, with other leaders refusing to take part in the traditional family photo with him.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the summit by video link, telling world leaders that to liberate his country’s territory, “we will have to fight for a while longer”.

Mr Zelensky said peace talks could only begin once Ukraine’s sovereignty, territory and independence have been assured.

Speaking in Lavrov’s presence, Mr Sunak paid tribute to the “incredible fortitude” of the Ukrainian president and vowed to continue supporting Kyiv “for as long as it takes”.

And he said that it was “notable” that Putin himself had pulled out of attending the summit alongside leaders of 18 other major states and the EU.

“One man has the power to change all of this,” said Mr Sunak.

“It is notable that Putin didn’t feel able to join us here. Maybe if he had, we could get on with sorting things out. 

“Because the single biggest difference that anyone could make is for Russia to get out of Ukraine and end this barbaric war.

“That would be transformative for Ukraine, but (also) for the world.

“The UK rejects this aggression. We will back Ukraine for as long as it takes. And support peace on the basis of the UN Charter. 

“And we will work constructively with the rest of the G20 to preserve the international order, because that is our collective responsibility.”

Mr Sunak said that the invasion of Ukraine had undermined “the fundamental principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity” which form the foundation of the international order.

“They must be upheld,” he said. “It is very simple - countries should not invade their neighbours, they should not attack civilian infrastructure and civilian populations and they should not threaten nuclear escalation.

“Surely these are things on which we can all agree.”

Mr Sunak said that the economic problems facing the global community in the wake of the Covid pandemic and the supply chain disruption it has caused were made “much, much worse” by Russia’s actions. 

With just four days to go to the expiry of an agreement allowing the export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, Mr Sunak said that Russia’s weaponisation of energy and food was “totally unacceptable”.

“Two-thirds of Ukraine’s grain goes to developing countries, yet Russia has destroyed grain stores and blocked shipments,” said the PM. 

“It is harming the most vulnerable people around the world. And this has nothing to do with sanctions.      

“All of us should support the (UN) Secretary General’s efforts to get the Black Sea Grain Initiative back on track.”