US Treasury Secretary: Ending Russian-Ukrainian war is a ‎‎“moral duty” to protect global economy

Janet Yellen, US Treasury Secretary, said that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s use of food and energy as a weapon not only harmed Ukraine, but also the global economy, especially developing countries.

According to Reuters, Yellen stated that ending the war is a “moral duty” in order to protect the global economy, and stressed that the United States “will stand by Ukraine as long as it is necessary.”

In remarks during the opening session of the meeting, as G20 financial officials meet in Bengaluru, India on Thursday, which coincided with the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, Yellen called on her G20 counterparts to “redouble their efforts to support Ukraine and constrain Russia’s ability to wage war.”

Yellen accused Russian officials attending the G20 meeting on Friday of “complicity” in the atrocities of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and in the damage the war caused to the global economy.

Yellen added, “I say to the Russian officials here at the G20 that they should realize that their continued work with the Kremlin makes them complicit in Putin’s atrocities. They bear responsibility for the lives lost and livelihoods destroyed in Ukraine and the damage caused worldwide.”

A US Treasury official said senior economic officials represented Russia at the meeting. It was not attended by Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov or the governor of the Russian Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina.