Indonesia calls for end to Ukraine war at G20 meeting with Russia

Indonesia called on Friday for an end to the war in Ukraine as it led a Group of 20 meeting attended by Russia's foreign minister.

"It is our responsibility to end the war sooner than later and settle our differences at the negotiating table, not the battlefield," Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said at the opening of the meeting in Bali.

She said that the world was just recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic when it was "already confronted with another crisis - the war in Ukraine".

"The ripple effects are being felt globally - on food, energy and fiscal space," she said.

"As always, developing and low-income countries are affected the most".

Indonesia, which has friendly relations with the United States but was a founder of the Non-Aligned Movement, has previously called for an end to the war without embracing the Western push to isolate Moscow politically and economically.

Indonesia allowed the attendance of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov but also invited Ukraine's foreign minister, who will attend virtually.

US officials say that Secretary of State Antony Blinken will refuse to speak separately with Lavrov.

They last met in Geneva in January when Blinken warned Russia of massive consequences if it went ahead with the invasion of Ukraine.