Foreign Minister Lavrov Calls The West Try To Politize The Joint Declaration Of The G20 Summit, Kremlin: Russian Voice HEARd

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov while attending the G20 Summit in Bali. (Twitter/@mfa_russia)

The Kremlin said Russia's voice was heard at the G20 summit in Bali, while Moscow's foreign minister said the West was trying to politicize the joint declaration of the summit on Tuesday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian voices were heard at the Group of Twenty Summit, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov having held many bilateral meetings, quickly responding to any criticism of Russia.

"Russia is represented by our foreign minister. Russian voices have been heard. Lavrov has held many bilateral meetings there. So, Russia is represented at the appropriate level," he said, launching TASS November 15.

Commenting on reports that several participating countries voiced criticism in connection with Russia, a Kremlin spokesman noted, "Our minister was quick to respond to the criticism and our experts expressed disapproval with this criticism while working on documents," he explained.

According to Peskov, Foreign Minister Lavrov expressed President Vladimir Putin's view that he had decided not to attend the summit.

"The foreign policy of the country is determined by the president," he said.

In Bali, Foreign Minister Lavrov said the draft final declaration of the G20 Summit included an assessment of Russia and the West regarding the Ukraine crisis.

"The West adds the phrase that'many delegates condemn Russia', we ensure that alternative views are outlined as well, we believe this is sufficient," he said.

The top diplomat said the West was seeking to politicize the final document, seeking criticism of Russia's actions in the Ukraine crisis on behalf of the entire G20, adding the work on the declaration was nearing completion.

"Our Western colleagues have tried in every way possible to politicize this declaration, trying to sneak in words that imply condemnation of Russia's actions on behalf of the entire G20," he explained.

According to Lavrov, the Russian side, in turn, proposed to reflect on the document in various positions in Ukraine. As a result, according to him, the draft declaration contains views on the crisis both from Moscow and the West.

"Let's do this in a fair way and let's make it clear that, in this topic, we have differences," Lavrov said, citing Reuters.

"Yes, there is a war going on in Ukraine, a hybrid war that has been launched and prepared by the West for years," he said.