The first day of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting ended with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov being the main target of speeches on Wednesday afternoon, with most countries in attendance joining in strong condemnation of the invasion of Ukraine, they told Portal sources speaking at the meetings were present.
Israel's attacks on Gaza were also the subject of speeches, with countries unanimously defending the twostate solution and emphasizing the need to pay attention to the humanitarian issue. However, there were demands on how to reach the two states, which everyone supported, but without solutions.
Lavrov was present at the meeting as a representative of the country that invaded Ukraine. During the fourhour meeting, he largely listened to speeches against his country.
British Chancellor James Cameron has been one of Russia's harshest condemners, declaring that Russia “must pay for this aggression” and that there is no more fundamental right of a country than the right to its sovereignty.
In an interview after the meeting, Norwegian Minister Espen Barth Eide said Lavrov presented a number of “alternative facts” during the meeting and argued that countries must act to defend the principles of sovereignty and freedom.
“We must support Ukraine until it becomes a free and sovereign country without another country's army on its territory,” he said.
Japan's Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa called the invasion of Ukraine an “outrageous act that undermines the foundations of the G20 and international law.”
Targeted from all sides, Lavrov listened impassively to all attacks, sources said, and responded with irony to his colleagues' speeches.
The Russian chancellor called the response of what he called “Western powers” “hypocrisy,” with different responses to Israel's invasion of Gaza and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, when both countries were acting in their own defense.
Brazilian Chancellor Mauro Vieira opened the meeting in the early afternoon by calling on the countries that represent the world's largest economies to bring international organizations out of “inaction” and respond to the escalation of conflicts in the world.
“However, multilateral institutions are not adequately equipped to deal with current challenges, as demonstrated by the Security Council's unacceptable paralysis in relation to current conflicts. This state of inaction directly means the loss of innocent lives,” he said.
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