Monitoring Desk
NEW DELHI: Top US diplomat and Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due in New Delhi on Wednesday alongside Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for a G20 meeting, amid the Ukraine war and tensions with China set to overshadow efforts by host India to bring unity among the top economies of the world.
A meeting between the two diplomats seems unlikely, who did not come across since a G20 meeting in Bali in July 2022, when, according to Western officials, Sergei Lavrov walked out.
They last met individually in January 2022, a couple of weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine. They have talked via phone since but about other matters and not the Ukraine war.
Russian Foreign Minister arrived late Tuesday in Delhi to utilize his attendance at the G20 meeting as reported by the Russian foreign ministry.
The statement from the ministry added that the destructive policy of the United States and its allies has already put the globe on the brink of chaos, provoked a rollback in socio-economic development, and seriously made the situation of the poorest nations worsened.
Meanwhile, a meeting on the sidelines of the two-day G20 gathering in New Delhi between Blinken and Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang is still uncertain.
Antony Blinken had an unpleasant encounter with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi the previous month in Germany soon after the United States targeted a suspected Chinese spy balloon over its east coast last month.
The incident led the US diplomate Blinken to refuse a rare trip to Beijing, bashing the “unacceptable violation of the sovereignty of the US and international law” which “must never again occur,” reported by the State Department said.
China, which has also been annoyed by the US stance on Taiwan, denies using spy balloons and says the craft was for weather updates.
Wang demanded the US to change its stance, acknowledge and repair the damage done that its excessive usage of force caused to US-China relations,” reported by state news agency Xinhua.
The US Foreign Secretary of State also warned Wang against providing any material assistance to Russia in the Ukraine war, as is speculated in Washington. China rejected any such intention.
The Group of Twenty comprises 19 nations and the EU (European Union), representing almost 85 percent of the world’s economy and about two-thirds of the global population.
India wants G20 presidency on poverty, climate change
New Delhi wants its G20 presidency this year to focus on matters including climate change and poverty alleviation, but the Ukraine war and its repercussions are likely to dominate the event.
Hosting the G20 puts India between the devil and the deep sea because while it shares Western concerns about Beijing, it is also a major buyer of Russian arms and has increased importing oil from Russia.
New Delhi has not condemned the Ukraine invasion; however, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed Russian President last year that this was “not a time for war” in comments seen as disapproval of Russia.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell while talking to reporters in New Delhi, said he was optimistic New Delhi would use the meeting to “make Moscow understand that this war has to be finished.”
