On behalf of the Polish government, the idea was recently floated by Development and Technology Minister Piotr Nowak, according to the tysol.pl website.
It came after the Russian assault on Ukraine drew international condemnation and sanctions against Moscow.
Last week, Nowak visited America for talks with officials from the US Departments of State and Commerce, among other meetings, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
“Our proposal to remove Russia from the G20 group and replace it with Poland, was met with much understanding from representatives of the American administration,” the minister told reporters afterwards, as quoted by tysol.pl.
Nowak added: “Gina Raimondo, the US secretary of commerce, said she would pass it on to President Joe Biden, and the idea itself was very well received,” tysol.pl reported.
G20 or new organisation?
“Reaction in the US has been so positive that Washington would be ready to leave G20 and take steps towards creating a new organisation,” Nowak said, according to tysol.pl.
“Such suggestions were made in behind-the-scenes talks,” he added.
Established in 1999, the prestigious G20 group brings together 19 countries and the European Union, comprising most of the world’s largest economies.
The club, which meets once a year, was created to coordinate financial policies, among other objectives, tysol.pl reported.
Its current members are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, China, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United States, and the EU.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, tysol.pl