US, UK and Canada walk out of G20 meeting over war in Ukraine

theguardian.com:

The UK, US and Canada have staged a coordinated walkout of a G20 meeting in protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, amid growing risks of division between leading nations hitting the world economy.

Representatives from the three countries left the session as Russian delegates spoke at the meeting in Washington. Sources said the governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, and a senior Treasury official were among those to leave the talks.

The walkout at the session, which was taking place on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund’s spring meetings, came amid growing fears that a breakdown in international relations would severely undermine the global economy’s recovery from the pandemic and add to soaring inflation, pushing millions more people into poverty worldwide.

In comments made shortly before the protest, the head of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, warned 75 years of development gains were being put at risk by a splintering of international cooperation.

Asked about reports of a potential walkout at the G20 meeting, Georgieva said the world had reached a “watershed moment” for global partnerships to tackle a range of issues including the pandemic, war in Ukraine, the climate emergency and rising poverty.

“There are clearly very, very unsettling facts we have to deal with. I can say honestly I never thought that I would live through another war in Europe on the scale this one takes place,”she said.

“We also recognise how interdependent we are. Just make the list of questions – no country can solve [them] on its own. It is so obvious that cooperation must and will continue.”

The walkout came as western leaders challenged Russia’s membership of the G20 group of leading economies, which includes the US, UK,