U.S. Treasury's Yellen says Biden wants Russia out of G20, may boycott meetings

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday said President Joe Biden wants Russia expelled from the Group of 20 major economies forum, and the United States will boycott "a number of G20 meetings" in Indonesia if Russian officials show up.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday said President Joe Biden wants Russia expelled from the Group of 20 major economies forum, and the United States will boycott "a number of G20 meetings" in Indonesia if Russian officials show up. Her comments at a U.S. House Financial Services Committee hearing raised questions over the future of the G20, which has been the premier global economic and policy forum since the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

But Yellen said Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the atrocities revealed after Russian troops retreated from Bucha "represent an unacceptable affront to the rules-based international order." She said it was unlikely that Russia could be expelled from the International Monetary Fund, but the Biden administration wants to push Russia out of active participation in such international institutions. The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors are due to meet in person and virtually in Washington later in April on the sidelines of IMF and World Bank Spring meetings.

Indonesia holds the G20 presidency this year and plans to host a finance meeting in July and a leaders summit in November. "President Biden's made it clear, and I certainly agree with him, that it cannot be business as usual for Russia in any of the financial institutions," Yellen said. "He's asked that Russia be removed from the G20, and I've made clear to my colleagues in Indonesia that we will not be participating in a number of meetings if the Russians are there," Yellen said.

The comments come as the Biden administration announced a new round of sanctions against Russian banks and elites, including banning Americans from investing in Russia and locking Sberbank, Russia's largest lender and holder of a third of its bank deposits, out of the U.S. financial system. But transactions allowing European allies to purchase Russian oil and natural gas were exempted through special Treasury licenses.

Yellen said that flexibility on Russian energy transactions was because many European countries "remain heavily dependent on Russian natural gas, as well as oil, and they are committed to making the transition away from that dependence as rapidly as possible." Yellen also issued a warning to China that Treasury was prepared to turn its sanctions tools against Beijing in the event of Chinese aggression against Taiwan, which China claims as a wayward province.

Asked if the United States would take such steps if Taiwan was threatened, she said: "Absolutely. I believe we've shown that we can. In the case of Russia, we threatened significant consequences. We've imposed significant consequences. And I think that you should not doubt our ability and resolve to do the same in other situations."