The “single best” strategy to help the world economy, according to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, along with supporting developing markets and addressing debt distress, is to increase support for the war-torn Ukraine.
On the eve of a meeting of the G20 finance ministers in India, Yellen added that she would “push back” against claims that aid to Ukraine and developing countries were traded off.
“Ending this war is first and foremost a moral imperative,” she told reporters in Gandhinagar. “But it’s also the single best thing we can do for the global economy.”
A global tax agreement, bank reform, and initiatives to address the financial distress experienced by failing economies were also mentioned by Yellen, who cautioned that it was “premature” to discuss lowering tariffs on China.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, one of the world’s two primary exporters of wheat, sent food and gasoline prices skyrocketing and sent shockwaves throughout the world’s markets.
Following a G7 ministerial meeting, Japan’s Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki “reconfirmed the G7’s unwavering support” for Ukraine.
“We confirmed that Russia-owned assets that are under the G7’s supervision would not be transferred until Russia pays damages to Ukraine,” Suzuki said, adding that Moscow should also “pay long-term reconstruction costs”.
India, which is hosting the G20 and has not denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but is also a member of the Quadrilateral alongside Australia, the United States, and Japan, finds any conversation on Ukraine problematic.
