Russia Will be Invited to G20 Summit Says Australian Treasurer Hockey

Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey.Reuters

Russia will be invited to the G20 Leaders' Summit in Brisbane later this year, said Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey, dispelling speculation that Russia could be excluded in the wake of Moscow's annexation of the Crimean peninsula.

"Of course Russia will be at the table," Hockey said on 9 April.

"But it is an economic forum and whilst we obviously will discuss some of the geopolitical challenges in the Ukraine, we are not going to allow it to dominate our agenda, which is focused on how we can grow the global economy," Hockey told CNBC in Washington.

Australia chairs the bloc of major economies this year, whose leaders are expected to discuss how they can boost global growth at this week's G20 meetings in Washington.

The Group of 20 major economies have promised to target a two percentage point increase in the global growth rate over five years and create tens of millions of jobs worldwide.

While geopolitical risks emanating from the Ukraine crisis will be discussed, growth will top the agenda at the meetings, scheduled to begin on 11 April, said Australia's G20 Finance Deputy Barry Sterland earlier in the week.

Sterland said there would be a discussion of the "full range" of geopolitical risks, but said that Ukraine had already been an issue at the previous G20, and there was no plan for joint action against Russia.

Six weeks ago, at the Sydney meeting, G20 finance ministers and central bank governors announced their target to add $2tn (£1.2tn, €1.5tn) to the global economy over five years, in line with the recent recovery after the financial crisis.

The G20 economies represent about 85% of the global economy.