Summit G-20 in Brisbane (2014)

The summit took place against the backdrop of strong geopolitical and economic instability:

• In 2014, an armed conflict arose in the east of Ukraine , a full-scale civil war continued in Iraq and Syria - as a result of which the self-proclaimed Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant appeared , unrest continued in Libya , the Arab-Israeli conflict flared up again - a military operation “Indestructible rock . "
• In Europe , stagnation continues: the main "locomotives" of Europe - the economies of Germany and Italy in the second quarter of 2014 showed a recession again, the situation in France is not much better. The Chinese economy also slowed down: in September, data were published, from which it can be seen that the country's energy consumption (the most accurate indicator of economic activity) in August decreased by 2.2 percent compared to the same month last year. The growth of industrial production in China in August 2014 was the weakest since the 2008 economic crisis . All these factors led to the fact that in September 2014, oil prices began to fall: the cost of a barrel of the Brent brand fell to $ 78 (as of November 17, 2014), which is one of the worst indicators since the crisis of 2008–2009 ^[2] .

Financial Twenty

September 20–21, 2014, in anticipation of the meetings of the heads of state, in the Australian city ​​of Cairns , a meeting of G-20 members at the level of finance ministers and central bankers was held . The meeting was chaired by Joe Hawkey, Australia’s chief treasurer, and the Russian delegation participated in the work of the so-called “financial twenty”. Following the meeting in Cairns, finance ministers and heads of central banks of the G-20 countries confirmed their intention to accelerate economic growth by an additional 2% over the next 5 years compared to existing national plans ^[3] :

“The development of the global economy is uneven, and its pace is still below the level needed to create the new jobs that the world needs,” the communiqué notes. - Risks caused by the situation in financial markets and geopolitical problems remain. In order to protect our economies from these risks, we need a steady and balanced growth and a vibrant financial sector. We are united in our determination to confront modern challenges. ”

G20 Summit Participants

Summit Results

The main political theme of the summit was security: the fight against terrorists of the “ Islamic State ”, with Ebola and the opposition to the Ukrainian crisis ^[4] .

In the economic sphere, one of the main tasks was the growth of world GDP by 2% by 2018 . According to forecasts, this task will increase the global economy by more than two trillion dollars and create millions of jobs. To implement this plan, the G20 leaders intend to increase the volume of trade and investment, as well as increase competition ^[5] .

In the final communiqué adopted by the “group of twenty”, the parties approved an action plan to combat corruption for 2015–2016, for which they pledged to jointly increase the transparency of the public and private sectors of the economy, noted the need to create an international infrastructure center and called on the US to stop hindering the reform of the IMF ^{[ 6]} .

The visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the G-20 summit took place against the backdrop of dramatically deteriorated relations between Russia and the Western world , and even before the summit was expected, it was not too warm to receive him in Australia. There were demonstrations on the streets of Australian cities with protests against Putin’s participation in the G-20 meeting. During the summit, the rest of the world leaders stayed away from the Russian president, avoiding communication with him. During Putin’s greeting to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said: “I think I should shake your hand, but I can only tell you one thing: get out of Ukraine” ^[7] , which was later confirmed by the press service of the head of government of Canada. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on November 12, 2014 in Beijing ^[8] offered Putin to apologize for the downed Malaysian Boeing ^[9] .

The world press drew attention to the fact that the attitude towards Vladimir Putin was very tense not only at the level of heads of state: thus, the top Australian officials didn’t go to the airport, only the Deputy Minister of Defense was sent to the meeting, although Australian Prosecutor General George Brendis , General - Governor Peter Cosgrove and the Prime Minister of Queensland Campbell Newman were very close to the plane, and in a few minutes they met the arrived heads of Germany, Angela Merkel and China Xi Jinping ^[10] . Campbell Newman commented on the situation in the following way: “I don’t want to meet him face to face” ^[11] . In 2013, a minor official also met Barack Obama in Russia ^[12] .

Also, the Russian embassy reported that the Russian side had difficulties organizing the president’s visit, even to the point of giving Putin a rather mediocre Hilton Brisbane hotel .

Russian President Vladimir Putin left the G-20 summit ahead of time, explaining this with the upcoming long flight and the need to sleep ^[13] .

According to the British Guardian , in Brisbane, Putin was "banished to diplomatic Siberia":

Few people shed tears at the treatment of such a despotic figure, which causes such substantial damage to the interests of their own country both at home and abroad.

- "British Press: Putin Sent" to Diplomatic Siberia ""

• Homepage G-20 .