Brussels: United States President Joe Biden said he thinks Russia should be removed from the Group of Twenty (G20) major economies and the topic was raised during his meetings with world leaders in Brussels earlier on Thursday.
President Biden says Russia should be removed from the G20: "Yes, it depends on the G20. That was raised today." pic.twitter.com/CWtYgRX1Wf
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 24, 2022
“My answer is yes, depends on the G20,” Biden said when asked if Russia should be removed from the group.
Biden also said if countries such as Indonesia and others do not agree with removing Russia, then in his view, Ukraine should be allowed to attend the meetings.
NATO meeting
Earlier, United States President Joe Biden and other world leaders opened a trio of emergency summits on Thursday with a sober warning from NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg that the alliance must boost its defences to counter Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and “respond to a new security reality in Europe.”
NATO Chief
Stoltenberg commented as he called to order a NATO summit focused on increasing pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin over the assault on Ukraine while tending to the economic and security fallout spreading across Europe and the world.
“We gather at a critical time for our security,” Stoltenberg said, addressing the leaders seated at a large round table.
“We are united in condemning the Kremlin’s unprovoked aggression and in our support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
He said the alliance is “determined to continue to impose costs on Russia to bring about the end of this brutal war.”
Throughout Thursday, the European diplomatic capital is hosting the emergency NATO summit, a gathering of the Group of Seven industrialized nations and a summit of the European Union. Biden will attend all three meetings and hold a news conference afterwards.
Biden’s arrival
Biden arrived late Wednesday with the hopes of nudging allies to enact new sanctions on Russia, which has seen its economy crippled by several weeks of bans, boycotts and penalties.
Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the U.S. wants to hear “that the resolve and unity that we’ve seen for the past month will endure for as long as it takes.”
