The crisis in Ukraine overshadowed a gathering of finance leaders from the world's top 20 economies that kicked off on Thursday, with host President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo warning "now is not the time" to create new risks to a fragile global recovery.

Russia's military presence at Ukraine's borders have led to one of the deepest crises in East-West relations for decades, jolting financial markets and adding to the headwinds facing a global economy still emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Geopolitical risks and the economic fallout from the pandemic will likely be among key topics of debate at the G20 finance leaders' meeting, as well as rising global inflation and tighter monetary policy in some regions.

Jokowi urged G20 nations to focus on collaboration to revive a global economy that is "still shaken" from the pandemic.

"In a situation like now, it is not the time for rivalry," he said in opening remarks at the G20 meeting, which many ministers are attending online due to the pandemic.

"It is not the time to create a new tension that disrupts the global recovery, especially one that endangers the safety of the world like what is happening in Ukraine now."

Analysts, however, warn the diverse membership of the G20, consisting of the United States and its allies but also rivals China and Russia, may make policy coordination hard.

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