New UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has labelled Russia a ‘rogue state’ while knocking President Vladimir Putin for not attending the G20 summit currently taking place in Bali.
Moscow’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov will instead go to the G20 summit.
Sunak says he believes that Putin’s no-show at today’s summit means the Kremlin leader is making no effort to explain his actions, despite being ‘responsible for so much bloodshed in Ukraine’.
It will be the first meeting between a UK Prime Minister and a Russian official since Putin began his invasion back in February.
Sunak is expected to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors Liz Truss and Boris Johnson and confront Russia over its ‘illegal invasion’.
Sunak, who was pictured speaking to journalists on the plane to Bali, will be outlining a five-point economic plan at the summit, as he hopes to lower dependence on Russia oil and gas.
Writing for The Telegraph, Mr Sunak said: ‘We will not let our economic future be held hostage by the actions of a rogue state – and nor will our allies.’
Speaking about Putin, he added: ‘Leaders take responsibility. They show up. Yet, at the G20 summit in Indonesia this week, one seat will remain vacant.
The man who is responsible for so much bloodshed in Ukraine and economic strife around the world will not be there to face his peers.
He won’t even attempt to explain his actions. Instead, he will stay at home and the rest of us will get on with the task at hand.’
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will be attending the summit via video link.
Sunak said he made it clear to the Kyiv leader that Britain ‘will never back down when it comes to supporting the Ukrainian people in the face of brutality’.
The G20 members are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the EU, UK and the US.
