Japanese foreign minister withdraws from G20 dinner party over laurel

17:50 07 July Kyiv, Ukraine

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi refused to participate in the official dinner party of the G20 foreign ministers as part of their meeting in Bali.
 
This was reported by the agency Kyodo.
“Due to the fact that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov could be present there, it was decided that the presence (Japanese Foreign Minister - ed.) would be inappropriate,” the agency said.
Recall that the G20 foreign ministers meeting is being held in Bali on July 7-8.. The Russian Foreign Ministry has previously confirmed that Sergey Lavrov will take part in it. The head of Russian diplomacy is scheduled to meet with colleagues from China, Turkey, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico and other countries, the ministry said.
 
Recall that the representative of the EU Foreign Service, Nabila Massrali, said that Russia's participation in the upcoming G20 summit at a high level could "undermine the credibility of this organization" and reduce its effectiveness.

She stressed that the European Union will not allow Russia to use the summit as a platform for disinformation.
 
The G20 summit is to be held in November 2022 in Bali in person.