7.16 a.m .: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov leaves the G20 meeting of leading and emerging economic powers on the Indonesian island of Bali early. “Lavrov is still conducting bilateral talks, then he turns to the press and leaves,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the German Press Agency on Friday. He therefore does not take part in the official meal and in the afternoon session.
6:49 a.m .: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov left the meeting room after his speech at the G20 meeting of leading and emerging economic powers on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali. The delegation circles reported on Friday on the sidelines of the deliberations.
Lavrov also evaded the reply from Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens). As acting chair of the G7 group of leading democratic economic powers, she was scheduled to be the next speaker. It was initially unclear whether Lavrov would take part in a planned lunch and a second working session in the afternoon.
Friday, July 8, 5:05 a.m.: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Bali on Friday morning for the eagerly awaited talks of the G20 foreign ministers, amid a large media crowd. Lavrov received a polite but reserved greeting from Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi upon his arrival at the luxury hotel Mulia in the seaside resort of Nusa Dua. At the same time, against the background of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, loud shouts could be heard from bystanders: “Stop the war!” and “When will you end this war”?
Indonesia, which currently holds the G20 presidency, previously offered to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv. All eyes are now on how opponents of the Russian war are dealing with Lavrov. His presence is seen as a test for Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin’s possible participation in the upcoming G20 summit in mid-November, which is also taking place in Bali. Several states have questioned their attendance should he appear in person.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and her counterpart from the USA, Anthony Blinken, also arrived at the seaside resort in the morning. Both were greeted by Retno Marsudi with a smile and a friendly smile.
Shortly after her arrival in Bali on Thursday evening, Baerbock said that in her speech in Lavrov’s presence, she would “find very clear words that we do not accept this breach of international law”. The usual family photo and an official final statement will probably not be given because of Lavrov’s presence in the evening. However, the Indonesian G20 Presidency intends to issue a statement at the end of the deliberations.
8:50 p.m .: Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the government in Kyiv and its allies that military action in Ukraine “has not yet begun in earnest”. “Everyone should know that we haven’t started in earnest yet,” the Kremlin chief told high-ranking MPs on Thursday. Russia does not reject peace negotiations. “But those who oppose it should know that it will be harder to come to an agreement with us,” Putin added at a later date.
In one of his sharpest speeches since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the Kremlin chief also said in the televised speech to West: “We hear that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. Let them try.”
Putin’s comments come after the US and Europe have stepped up arms supplies to Ukraine’s army in recent weeks, which is trying to stem Russian advances in the east.
“The collective West” unleashed a “war” in Ukraine, Putin said. The Russian intervention in the pro-Western country marks the beginning of a shift from US world dominance to a “multi-polar world”. This process cannot be stopped, Putin stressed.
Most countries in the world didn’t want to follow the Western model of “total liberalism” and “hypocritical double standards,” Putin said. “People in most countries do not want such a life and such a future,” stressed the Russian President. “They’re just tired of kneeling themselves down in front of those who consider themselves extraordinary.”
6:34 p.m .: Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht has rejected a delivery of Fuchs armored personnel carriers to Ukraine, citing Germany’s own security interests. “We support Ukraine with everything that is possible and responsible. But we have to ensure Germany’s ability to defend itself,” the SPD minister told the German Press Agency on Thursday, responding to demands from the Union.
Lambrecht further explained: “It is therefore irresponsible to want to plunder the Bundeswehr, especially in these times, and even to want to ignorantly ignore the military advice of the Inspector General.” no leeway to let Ukraine have the tanks.
The Union faction wants to demand a short-term delivery of 200 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine with a decision by the Bundestag on Thursday. The parliamentary group also refers to a decision taken jointly with the traffic light coalition in the Bundestag at the end of April to supply heavy weapons to Ukraine.
“For the Ukrainian army, it is about the rapid delivery of reliable material that can be used immediately on the front line. Such material is in the inventory of the Bundeswehr and is to be withdrawn from use by the Bundeswehr: the Fuchs armored transport vehicle,” says the application.
4:37 p.m .: The Finnish parliament decided on Thursday to better secure the border with Russia. An amendment to the Border Protection Act aims to make it easier to build stronger fences along the 1,300-kilometer border. This should enable Finnish border guards to better respond to “hybrid threats,” said Anne Ihanus, a consultant at the Finnish Ministry of the Interior. The emergency law was also supplemented for this purpose.
Behind the plans is the concern that Moscow could use refugee movements to exert political pressure on neighboring Finland, as was the case recently on the border between Belarus and Poland. In such a case, border crossings on the border with Russia should also be closed and collection points for asylum seekers set up.
Finland and Sweden broke with their traditional military neutrality in May because of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and applied for NATO membership. In June, the government in Helsinki also announced that it would better secure the border with Russia. So far, the border has primarily been protected by light wooden fences, which are primarily intended to keep animals away.
A “solid fence with a real barrier effect” is now planned, as explained by Sanna Palo, head of the legal department at the Finnish border guard. In all likelihood, the fence will not cover the entire border, but only crucial areas.
3:12 p.m .: According to the Kremlin, Russia is preparing for the “worst” in its Baltic Sea region of Kaliningrad because of the EU sanctions. Talks are being held through various channels to solve the problem of transiting goods through the Baltic EU country of Lithuania to Russian territory, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. “Of course we hope for the best, but prepare for the worst,” he said, according to the Interfax agency.
Goods must pass through EU territory by land to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Lithuania no longer allows sanctioned goods through. Affected are luxury goods and steel products, which make up a large part of the blocked goods. Other goods and also passengers could continue to cross the country.
Russia sees the supply of the region surrounded by EU countries at risk. The head of the Russian Federation Council, Valentina Matviyenko, accused Lithuania of “madness”. If no solution to the problem is found, Russia’s response will be harsh. She criticized the West’s punitive measures against Russia for invading Ukraine as unlawful overall.
“But the imposition of sanctions on transit from one part of Russia to another part of Russia – this is the utmost madness, which is not allowed in international relations,” she said. Lithuania and the EU are warned. Matviyenko did not comment about what countermeasures Russia intends to take if transit is not reopened.
12:44 p.m .: In the face of a serious economic crisis, Sri Lanka’s government has asked Russia for help. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa asked his Russian colleague Vladimir Putin in a telephone call, among other things, for a loan to buy gasoline, as he wrote on Twitter. An employee of the Ministry of Energy in Sri Lanka said on Thursday that two representatives of Russian oil companies had already arrived in the capital Colombo.
The island state south of India is in the midst of its worst economic crisis in decades. Faced with a lack of foreign exchange, the country is struggling to import enough fuel, gas, medicine and food. The highly indebted country is also hoping for help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
President Rajapaksa tweeted on Wednesday that he had also asked Putin to ensure that state-owned airline Aeroflot returned to Sri Lanka. Russian vacationers are an important source of income for Sri Lanka, which is dependent on tourism. Sri Lanka has not criticized Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
9:52 a.m .: Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht has rejected a delivery of Fuchs armored personnel carriers to Ukraine, citing Germany’s own security interests. “We support Ukraine with everything that is possible and responsible. But we have to ensure Germany’s ability to defend itself,” the SPD minister told the German Press Agency on Thursday, responding to demands from the Union.
Lambrecht further explained: “It is therefore irresponsible to want to plunder the Bundeswehr, especially in these times, and even to want to ignorantly ignore the military advice of the Inspector General.” no leeway to let Ukraine have the tanks.
The Union faction wants to demand a short-term delivery of 200 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine with a decision by the Bundestag on Thursday. The parliamentary group also refers to a decision taken jointly with the traffic light coalition in the Bundestag at the end of April to supply heavy weapons to Ukraine.
“For the Ukrainian army, it is about the rapid delivery of reliable material that can be used immediately on the front line. Such material is in the inventory of the Bundeswehr and is to be withdrawn from use by the Bundeswehr: the Fuchs armored transport vehicle,” says the application.
9.03 a.m .: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has arrived in Bali for a meeting of the foreign ministers of the G20 group of states. Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens), who is due to arrive on the Indonesian island on Thursday evening (local time), is also taking part in the consultations. The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine is expected to overshadow the meeting of the group of leading and emerging economic powerhouses.
Lavrov wanted to hold talks with his Chinese colleague Wang Yi and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday, the Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing the Foreign Ministry in Moscow. The US State Department had previously said that a bilateral meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Lavrov was not planned.
Lavrov’s presence is seen as a test for Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin’s possible participation in the G20 summit on November 15 and 16, which is also taking place in Bali. Several states have questioned their participation should Putin appear in person.
Indonesia, the world’s largest island nation, holds the G20 presidency this year. President Joko Widodo traveled to Kyiv and Moscow at the end of June and met both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Putin. He had offered a mediating role in the conflict.
You can read more news on the following pages.
