London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 30, 2025

Rishi Sunak brands Russia a ‘pariah state’ as Putin’s war overshadows G20 summit

Rishi Sunak brands Russia a ‘pariah state’ as Putin’s war overshadows G20 summit

The Prime Minister plans to use the first summit session on Tuesday to confront Moscow’s representative Sergei Lavrov

Rishi Sunak has said Russia is becoming a “pariah state” as he prepares to “unequivocally condemn” Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine at the G20 summit.

The Prime Minister is in Bali with fellow leaders of the world’s major economies, and was planning to use the first summit session on Tuesday to confront Russia’s representative Sergei Lavrov with allies.

President Vladimir Putin was long expected to attend the meeting, but is sending his foreign minister in his place, as he continues to suffer military setbacks and unanimous condemnation from Western powers.

Speaking to reporters travelling with him to Indonesia, Mr Sunak said: “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.”

Asked how he will engage with Mr Lavrov at the summit, the Prime Minister said: “I’m going to take the opportunity to unequivocally condemn the Russian state and Putin for their abhorrent and illegal war.

“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 G20 leaders’ summit is not only the first since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion in February, but the first in the group’s history held in the shadow of a major European war instigated by one of its members.


Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Rishi Sunak during a meeting at the Art Cafe Bumbu Bali in Bali


The gathering looks likely to be dominated by the fallout from the conflict, which has caused and exacerbated global economic woes, driving up food and energy prices worldwide.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to address the event virtually.

Asked if he would encourage Kyiv to enter peace talks, Mr Sunak said that is a question for the Ukrainians.

“It’s a bit unfair to say to the Ukrainians: ‘look you should be negotiating’ when your country and your civilian infrastructure is being relentlessly bombed, as it is currently.

“So our job is to continue to help the Ukrainians defend themselves, and put themselves in the strongest possible position, at a time of their choosing, to bring a negotiated settlement.

“But nothing that Russia is doing at the moment would suggest that they are committed or interested in that approach right now.”

China’s President Xi Jinping on Monday joined America’s Joe Biden in condemning Russian threats of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, the White House said.

The leaders of the two superpowers agreed that “a nuclear war should never be fought” and cannot be won, “and underscored their opposition to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine,” according to US officials.

Beijing has given a muted reaction to Mr Putin’s invasion but has called for a negotiated peace agreement. In September, China’s foreign minister Wang Yi said that Beijing “supports all efforts conducive to the peaceful resolution of the Ukraine crisis”.
Volodymyr Zelensky visiting the newly-liberated Ukrainian city of Kherson on Monday


Foreign Secretary James Cleverly earlier told LBC Radio that Mr Putin “will listen to what the Chinese say” as Beijing remains one of Moscow’s last significant international allies. “China has a huge influence on the world stage,” he added.

Separately, the head of the CIA met with his Russian intelligence counterpart in Istanbul on Monday to underscore the consequences if Moscow were to deploy a nuclear weapon in Ukraine.

A spokesperson for the National Security Council confirmed that Bill Burns met with his Sergey Naryshkin, director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, on Monday to “communicate with Russia on managing risk”.

In other developments, Mr Zelensky visited the southern city of Kherson on Monday after his troops liberated the territory from Russian occupation.

Mr Zelensky shook hands with soldiers and waved to civilians looking out from surrounding flats as he was escorted by bodyguards three days after his troops swept into the city.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Bali


He told soldiers they had "proved it was impossible to kill Ukraine", then held a minute's silence for the dead.

Russia’s foreign minister Mr Lavrov, 72, denied reports that he had been hospitalised with a heart condition in Bali prior to the G20 conference.

Associated Press, citing Indonesian officials, said that Mr Lavrov had been taken to hospital after arriving on the island for the summit.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed the reports as “the height of fakery”.

Ms Zakharova posted a video of Lavrov, President Putin's foreign minister since 2004, sitting outdoors on a patio, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt and reading documents.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
×