Biden to push fence-sitting nations at Bali summit to step up their efforts against Russia
BALI, Indonesia — President Joe Biden will push the leaders of the world’s largest economies to enforce a price cap on Russian oil and gas when he sees them at a summit on Tuesday in Bali.
Biden will tell nations taking part in the Group of 20 Summit that the price cap will benefit their economies, and help to stabilize the global energy market, a U.S. official said on a call with reporters.
Fence-sitting nations that have declined to implement sanctions against Russia for its war on Ukraine are some of the biggest hold outs on the price cap that the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Japan and European nations are working to put in place by early December.
Indonesia, which is hosting the summit, and India, a top importer of Russian oil, have not agreed to abide by the price cap, which is intended to cut into Moscow’s revenue and make it harder for Russia to continue its war effort.
Biden sat down with Indonesia President Joko Widodo on Monday before a marathon meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
He’ll have plenty of time to press G20 nations on the price cap on Tuesday when leaders conduct their business behind closed doors.
The latest:
- Rallying around Ukraine: The U.S. said Tuesday that most G20 nations were preparing to release a statement condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine.
- What it will say: Nations are will accuse Russia of wreaking havoc on the global economy and causing immense suffering in Ukraine and developing nations that are facing food and fuel insecurity as a result of the war.
- Who’s in, who’s out: The U.S. official who briefed reporters declined to say which countries had signed on.
- Key opposition: Russia is a member of the G20 and Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov is in Bali attending the summit.
- Close call: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who Biden met with Saturday in Phnom Penh, tested positive for COVID. The White House says Biden’s test came back negative.
to sit down with Mohammad bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia — but that does rule out a situation where Biden ends up speaking with the crown prince during the leader luncheon.Biden’s meeting with Xi on Monday evening in Bali.
Biden is least likely to talk to Lavrov, given the U.S. president’s efforts to get G20 nations to punish and isolate Russia.
What they are saying
- Sullivan said told reporters prior to the summit that Biden’s focus would be on energy security, the clean energy transition, food security, debt relief for low- and middle-income countries, multilateral development bank reform, and the launch of a pandemic preparedness fund.
- “He will also rally likeminded nations to speak out forcefully against Russia’s illegal invasion in — and illegal war in Ukraine, which has exacerbated many of these challenges,” Sullivan said.