US Treasury Secretary (Secretary of the Treasury) Janet Yellen on Sunday tried to dispel concerns during the G7 leaders’ meeting in India that the large-scale support intended for Ukraine will be provided at the expense of the aid provided. to developing countries, reports France Presse.

“I reject the idea of ​​a compromise” between the two issues, which are actually closely related, she told a news conference in Gandhinagar, western India, where the G7 Finance meeting is being held on Sunday. meeting similar to the G20 on Monday and Tuesday, reports Agerpres.

“A key priority” is “doubling our support for Ukraine,” because “ending this war is first and foremost a moral imperative. But it’s also the best thing we can do for the global economy,” he said. Yellen said, echoing the comments. it already did in November, just before the G20 summit in Bali.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – the planet’s two main breadbaskets – has sent shockwaves through the global economy since last year, sending food and energy prices soaring.

The agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea expires on Monday, and Moscow is currently refusing to extend it.

Russia’s “illegal” war in Ukraine is one of the reasons behind the recent deterioration in debt levels in developing countries, Yellen insisted on Sunday.

The G7 countries (the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada) are determined to support Ukraine as long as necessary to repel a Russian invasion, as they reiterated earlier this week in Vilnius on the sidelines of NATO summits.

However, insisting on Kyiv’s support could be potentially awkward for this year’s G20 host nation, as India has so far not condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Many countries of the South also do not want to take an open position on this issue, comments AFP.

Wanting to show that industrialized countries are sparing no effort for developing countries, Yellen mentioned a number of progress or reforms on various fronts in development aid that will be discussed at the G20 finance summit in Gandhinagar.

She mentioned ongoing efforts to reform multilateral development banks, starting with the largest of them, the World Bank, to improve their effectiveness by targeting aid more precisely to the huge problem of global warming.

She also noted progress on debt restructuring for countries such as Zambia and said similar files for Ghana and Sri Lanka were expected to be completed soon.

The G20 financial summit in Gandhinagar – a new city in India created in the 1960s and named after the national independence hero Gandhi – will also be an opportunity to continue negotiations on an international treaty on the taxation of multinational companies.

The previous draft was approved by nearly 140 countries under the auspices of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), but there are still some obstacles.

Ajay Banga, the new president of the World Bank, expressed concern this week about the “deep mistrust” between the North and the South, “at a time when we need to come together” to overcome the challenges of the “interdependence” of the struggle. against global poverty, an “existential” climate crisis, and post-pandemic economic recovery threatened by inflation and the war in Ukraine.

“The disappointment of the southern countries is understandable. In many ways, these countries pay for the prosperity of other states (…). They are concerned that the resources promised to them will not be redirected to the reconstruction of Ukraine,” he said in an online article.

On the complicated Sino-US relationship, another point of contention at the G20, Janet Yellen, who visited China earlier this month, said on Sunday that it would be “premature” to lift trade restrictions from Beijing initiated by former US President Donald Trump.

According to the US Treasury Secretary, these trade barriers “were put in place because we were concerned about China’s unfair trade practices” and the problem “continues”.