As the ruthless war between Russia and Ukraine continues unabated, the United Kingdom stated that Moscow has no “moral right” to attend the G20 summit, The Kyiv Independent reported, quoting a British Foreign Ministry official. UK Member of Parliament Rishi Sunak has also urged G20 to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from attending meetings until Russia ends its conflict in Ukraine.
“Our G20 partners and allies have a collective responsibility to call Putin’s abhorrent behaviour out,” a spokesperson for Sunak said. “Sitting round a table with him isn’t good enough when he is responsible for children being killed in their beds as they sleep,” the spokesperson, the Kyiv Independent reported.
The spokesperson even added that they must make it clear to Putin that he cannot join them at the table until he ends the unlawful conflict in Ukraine.
Besides Putin, the leader of China, Xi Jinping, would attend the summit, which will be held in Indonesia in November. Further, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, has also been invited by Indonesia to the Bali summit.
UK bans Russian gold in July
Meanwhile, in July, the UK prohibited the import of Russian gold due to war crimes perpetrated in Ukraine. London, a significant international centre for the trade of Russian gold, embraced the policy, making it the first of its sort to be applied against Russia anywhere in the world. The UK government reiterated that this will significantly affect Putin’s capacity to gather money and exacerbate the conflict in Kyiv, as per media reports.
In a statement, 10 Downing Street said Russian gold will no longer be allowed to be imported into the UK, Canada, the US, and Japan. The United Kingdom first suggested the embargo on Russian gold in the month of June, and it became effective on July 21. Separately, an import embargo on oil will take effect on December 31.
In addition to this, earlier on August, 39 British politicians, businessmen, and journalists have been denied entry to Russia. David Cameron, a former British prime minister, Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, and Wendy Morton, the deputy minister for transport, are among the UK citizens who have been singled out by the Russian sanctions.
The names have been included on the list of over 200 British people who have previously been barred from entering Russia, which includes UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Deputy PM Dominic Raab, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, and House of Lords President John McFall.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the sanctions include British citizens who support the UK’s “hostile course aimed at the demonisation of our country and its international isolation.” In a statement made by the Ministry, it highlighted that Moscow would continue to respond to UK’s acts that plants “Russophobia”, promotes “false information”, and assists “Kyiv’s neo Nazi regime.”
(Image: AP)