President Biden calls for Russia to be removed from G20

US president Joe has said that Russia should be kicked out of the G20 in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. “If Indonesia and others do not agree, then we should, in my view, ask to have Ukraine be able to attend the meetings,” Biden said in a news conference Thursday at the NATO headquarters in Belgium.  The move would also further isolate the Kremlin and diminish Russia’s influence over the world’s economy. The U.S. does not have sole power to remove Russia from the group; its members would have to decide.  Biden is pushing to inflict further economic pain by calling for Russia to be booted from the G-20 and its November heads of state summit in Indonesia. 

Biden urged Nato and the European Union to maintain total unanimity in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “The single most important thing that we have to do in the West is be united,” Biden said on Thursday in Brussels at the Europa building, where he was due to meet with European Council President Charles Michel. Biden told reporters. “Not a joke, I’m being deadly earnest. I believe that’s been his intention since the very, very beginning,” he said.

The G-20 is made up of 19 member countries and the European Union. Collectively, G-20 members account for 60% of the world's population, 80% of global GDP and 75% of global exports. The members are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union. Spain is invited to the annual summit as a permanent guest.