RISHI Sunak will face down Russia tomorrow, demonising the country as a ‘pariah state’ over the Ukraine invasion.
The Prime Minister is set to sit just yards away from the country’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov as he delivers a damning attack over Russia’s illegal war.
Rishi Sunak has slammed Russia as a ‘pariah state’ during the G20 in Bali
Rishi Sunak and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau met for a drink and chat in Bali
Mystery surrounded the health of the Russian minister, 72, as he was forced to dismiss reports that he had gone to hospital on arrival on the island of Bali over a heart condition.
The PM said: “I’m going to take the opportunity to unequivocally condemn the Russian state and Putin for their abhorrent and illegal war and that’s what I plan to do.
“And that’s what I believe our allies will also do. It’s telling that Putin is not there.
“Russia is becoming a pariah state and he’s not there to take responsibility for what he’s doing.”
Mr Sunak added: “But I’m going to use the opportunity to put on the record my condemnation of what they’re doing.
“I will do that in the hall, I will do that if I see him elsewhere and that’s the right thing to do.”
The PM’s damning rebuke comes as hero Ukraine president Volodymyr Zeelensky will attend the summit virtually, despite not being a formal member of the G20.
The PM also said that western allies will put Ukraine in the “strongest possible position” for an eventual negotiation with Russia.
Mr Sunak arrived in Indonesia last night where he met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Bumbu Bali Arts Cafe for drinks and snacks.
The Canadian drank a Bintang beer and teetotal Sunak knocked back a mango spritz.
Mr Trudeau spoke of the UK joining a huge free trade area, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which also includes Singapore and Australia.
Mr Sunak will also hold meetings with US President Joe Biden and Indian PM Narendra Modi during his visit to the summit.
Meanwhile, when asked about the possibility of meeting China’s leader, he said: “President Xi is here and like all the other leaders, hopefully I will have a chance to talk to him too.”
During the summer leadership contest Mr Sunak declared China “the biggest-long term threat to Britain” and vowed to close all 30 of Beijing’s Confucius Institutes in the UK.
Mr Biden and Xi met in person today ahead of the summit with the US President believing there will be no new cold war.
He said he had an “open and honest” conversation amid tensions surrounding Taiwan which China sees as part of its own territory.
