Lavrov criticizes Poland's participation in the G20. "It brings nothing"

During the meeting of foreign ministers of the G20 countries in Atlanta, Sergei Lavrov expressed his dissatisfaction with Poland's presence at the forum. As he emphasized, the invitation of the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, by the United States is "unproductive" and constitutes a departure from current diplomatic practice.

Of course, this is a violation of the rules of diplomacy, especially multilateral diplomacy, where members of associations such as the G20 work on the basis of consensus, Lavrov said, quoted by Russian media. This applies to the program and inviting new participants, he added

Poland "contributes nothing" to the meeting

The head of Russian diplomacy did not spare bitter words against Poland. In his opinion, Warsaw should not take part in the G20 meetings because its economy is not large enough to qualify for this group.

As he noted, Poland "contributes nothing" to this meeting.

He also added that there are already enough NATO and European Union representatives in the G20, which in his opinion makes Poland's presence unnecessary.

Poland at the invitation of the USA

Lavrov emphasized that Russia was not subjected to any pressure regarding Poland's invitation. The Americans simply invited the Polish minister, and he came in and sat on the chair intended for him, the Russian minister reported.

This year, the United States is leading the work of the G20 and it is on their initiative that Poland is participating in the meetings as a full member, although by special invitation.

During the talks in Atlanta, there was also information about the future of Poland's participation in the G20. Great Britain has already invited Warsaw to participate in next year's work of the group, and Poland is seeking similar invitations from the next presidencies - Korean and Mexican. However, Minister Sikorski admitted that he "does not expect enthusiasm from Russia" in this matter.

The meeting of G20 foreign ministers takes place from Friday to Saturday.