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Rishi Sunak blasts cowardly Putin and calls on Russia to end ‘barbaric’ Ukraine war in G20 clash with Sergei Lavrov
RISHI Sunak has branded Vladimir Putin a coward for not meeting world leaders to bring an end to the Ukraine invasion.
The Prime Minister, 42, blasted the absent Russian leader as he delivered a damning rebuke over the illegal war.
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It was the PM's first major intervention on the world stage as he addressed the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia today.
He said Putin has undermined the world order and made economic problems around the world worse through the 'weaponisation' of food and energy.
Mr Sunak said: "One man has the power to change all of this.
"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.
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"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 for the world."
The Russian representative in the room was foreign minister Sergei Lavrov who was sent as Putin's replacement.
Mr Sunak was addressing the first session of the G20 attended by world leaders including US President Joe Biden and Indian PM Narendra Modi.
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It comes after he said he wanted to put Ukraine in the best position for an eventual negotiation to end the war.
His comments came after the world leaders heard from Ukraine President Vlodymyr Zelensky by video link.
The PM said the invasion of Ukraine has "profound implications" for undermining sovereignty and territorial integrity.
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.
"Secondly, the economic issues we should be focusing on today are made much, much worse by Russia’s actions.
"The weaponisation of energy and food is totally unacceptable.
"Two thirds of Ukraine’s grain goes to developing countries, yet Russia has destroyed grain stores and blocked shipments.
"It is harming the most vulnerable people around the world. And this has nothing to do with sanctions."
He added that the world should support efforts to renewal of a pact that allows grain shipments through the Black Sea.
'CONFIDENT'
Mr Sunak is "confident" there is growing opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine among G20 countries, Downing Street said.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov "was left in no doubt of the strength of feeling by a number of G20 countries" during the first summit session, the Prime Minister's official spokesman told reporters in Bali.
He said: "It wouldn't be right for me to speak on behalf of other world leaders but there was certainly very strong condemnation from a number of quarters.
"I think that the Prime Minister, as you saw it, was very forthright and frank in his assessment of the problems that we are currently seeing."
He said he is "confident that there is a growing number of countries who oppose" Russia's actions in Ukraine.
'STRONG AS POSSIBLE'
The UK is pushing for a G20 communique to be "as strong as possible" on condemning Russia's war in Ukraine, Downing Street has said, while declining to make any predictions about whether one can be agreed.
The Prime Minister's official spokesperson was asked about reports that leaders could agree a draft communique rejecting the era of war and condemning the use of nuclear weapons.
The official told reporters in Bali: "It's part and parcel of these summits that there's a sort of iterative process around agreeing a communique, and that's continuing.
"Obviously we want any communique, should it be agreed, to be as strong as possible, recognising that the G20 is a different forum to the G7 and that it's largely focused on economic issues.
"But I wouldn't comment as inevitably there's more speculation about what may or may not be in it."
Asked if Mr Sunak has become more confident that a statement will be agreed, the official said: "I'm not going to put a prediction on the communique. What's important is what actions come out of this. Continued support for Ukraine from a wide variety of countries."
FIVE NEW WARSHIPS
Meanwhile, Mr Sunak has announced the construction of five more British warships, as he declined to commit to boosting defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP.
As part of steps the UK is taking to strengthen its security in the face of increased threats from Moscow, Mr Sunak announced that defence manufacturer BAE Systems has been awarded a £4.2billion contract to build five more Type 26 frigates for the Royal Navy, on top of the three already under construction.
The Prime Minister said: "Russia's actions put all of us at risk.
"As we give the Ukrainian people the support they need, we are also harnessing the breadth and depth of UK expertise to protect ourselves and our allies.
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"This includes building the next generation of British warships."
The expansion of the programme to build the frigates, designed for anti-submarine warfare, follows the attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, which have been blamed on the Kremlin.
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