US President disappointed by absence of Russian and Chinese leaders at G20 Summit

US President Joe Biden. Photo: Reuters

“It was disappointing that Russia and China didn’t actually show up,” President Biden said at a press conference after the summit. “I was disappointed myself.” The leaders of Russia and China, President Vladimir Putin and President Xi Jinping, attended the summit via video conference only.

In addition, what disappointed the US leader about the results of the summit was the stance of the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China on the environment, and the fact that some countries seemed to have no "commitment to combating climate change". President Biden commented: "I think we have made significant progress and there is still a lot to do, but we still need to continue to focus on what China is not doing, what Russia is not doing, what Saudi Arabia is not doing.

The White House chief said the G20 summit had made progress in fighting the pandemic, recovering the economy and dealing with the climate crisis, adding that this was a year marked by global challenges. However, the US President warned that the US and some other countries' plans to switch to green (renewable) energy sources could not be implemented overnight, because countries are currently unable to stop using oil and gas.

Earlier the same day, a statement on the results of the G20 Summit was released, in which the parties made a number of commitments in the fight against COVID-19, dealing with global economic challenges, reaching an agreement to reduce carbon emissions to zero, maintaining uninterrupted energy flows and a number of other commitments./.