G20 leaders to approve statement on anti-terrorism fight at summit - Russian diplomat

ANKARA, October 15. /TASS/. The leaders of the G20 economic summit in Turkey’s Antalya next month are due to discuss the fight against terrorism and the possible solutions to the unprecedented refugee crisis, Russia’s G20 Sherpa Svetlana Lukash said on Thursday. "Turkey as the G20 chair has introduced some innovations. This year, the summit of the Group of 20 which is an exclusively economic and financial format will hold a separate meeting of the leaders on the issues of terrorism and refugee crisis," Lukash said after a meeting of G20 Sherpas in the capital Ankara. It is impossible to ignore these problems in the current situation although the work of the G20 is aimed at solving economic issues. The leaders will discuss these issues during a working dinner, she said. "It is highly likely that the sides will agree on either a statement or a point in the final communique reflecting the discussion of the leaders on these problems," the Russian presidential representative in the G20 said. The sides could also discuss the issue of fundraising as the international organizations lack resources to provide humanitarian assistance to the refugees, the diplomat added. The October 10 terrorist attack in Ankara that killed 99 people and the growing terrorist threats in eastern Turkey will not suspend the effort on preparing for the G20 summit and the leaders’ meeting in the resort Antalya in mid-November. "In the G20 history, there were such situations when similar events occurred ahead of the meetings of leaders and ministers. But this did not cancel the summit," Lukash said. Alongside Russia, the G20 group unites Argentina, Australia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Canada, China, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, France, South Africa, South Korea, Japan, the United States and the European Union. G20 members account for 85 percent of the world economy and 80 percent of global trade. Read more