‘Unfriendly states’ pitching deals to Russia at G20 – Kremlin aide
A number of countries that Russia considers “unfriendly” have privately pitched proposals on improving economic cooperation during the G20 Summit, the head of the Russian delegation, Kremlin aide Maksim Oreshkin, told reporters on Sunday.
The summit brought together leaders representing the world’s 20 largest economies in Johannesburg, South Africa, this weekend.
“A number of countries we consider unfriendly have approached us with specific proposals for cooperation – on how to improve economic relations with Russia and implement joint projects,” Oreshkin said at a press conference.
He added that he would not elaborate on which countries made the offers “lest their colleagues be offended later.”
Constructive discussions took place with several nations, according to the Kremlin aide, who formerly served as Russia’s minister of economic development.
Many Western countries severed or curtailed economic cooperation with Moscow and imposed wide-reaching sanctions on Russia following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. The Kremlin says the country has since adapted to the restrictions and even grown more resilient due to them.
In 2022, Russia formally branded dozens of Western countries “unfriendly states,” accusing them of carrying out hostile actions against Russian citizens and companies. The designation allows for diplomatic curbs and entails increased scrutiny and special approval requirements for businesses from those nations.
However, Moscow has since stressed that it only considers governments, rather than countries themselves, to be “unfriendly.”
“For Russia, there are no unfriendly nations or people, but there are countries with unfriendly governments,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Italian outlet Corriere della Sera in an interview earlier this month. While the newspaper refused to publish the exclusive, it was later released by the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry.
