(New Delhi) In the middle of a diplomatic cold, the United States and Russia meet on Wednesday in New Delhi for the start of a G20 meeting weighed down by deep divisions over the war in Ukraine.
The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken, expected in the evening in India, has already warned that he does not plan to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during this two-day meeting between G20 foreign ministers.
On Saturday, the meeting of G20 finance ministers had already brought to light the deep differences over Ukraine which had prevented agreement on a joint statement, Moscow and Beijing having refused to validate the paragraphs mentioning this conflict.
From Uzbekistan where he was visiting on Wednesday, the head of the American diplomacy also indicated that he did not plan to meet the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Qin Gang, in New Delhi.
A sign of the icy climate between Washington and Moscow, Antony Blinken has not found himself in the same room as Sergei Lavrov since a previous G20 meeting in Bali (Indonesia) last July.
Their last face-to-face meeting dates back to January 2022, a few weeks before the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
MM. Blinken and Lavrov have since spoken by phone, but not to discuss this topic.
“Destructive policy”
The Russian foreign minister arrived Tuesday evening in India, a country that has a long-standing friendship with Russia and did not condemn the invasion in Ukraine.
Sergei Lavrov will take advantage of his participation in the G20 to attack the West, according to a press release from his ministry.
“The destructive policy of the United States and its allies has already brought the world to the brink of catastrophe, set back socio-economic development, and made the situation of the poorest countries much worse,” the document released on Tuesday said. .
Relations between the United States and China are also strained.
They have turned particularly sour since the destruction on February 4 by an American fighter plane of a Chinese balloon flying over the United States.
Washington claims it was a spy device, while Beijing presents the device as a civilian aircraft that had deviated from its trajectory.
The incident had prompted the head of American diplomacy to postpone at the last minute a rare visit planned to Beijing, supposed to ease tensions with the Chinese rival.
Among the many subjects of contention between Beijing and Washington is also Taiwan, an island of 24 million inhabitants that China has intended to attach to the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.
“Frank and direct”
Ten days ago, Antony Blinken and the head of Chinese diplomacy, Wang Yi, spoke in Germany during an exchange described as “frank and direct” by Washington.
Mr Blinken had warned his interlocutor of the “implications and consequences” for China if it turned out to be providing “material support” to Russia in its war in Ukraine or helping it to escape the Western sanctions – which Beijing denies.
Chinese President Xi Jinping also received on Wednesday in Beijing the main ally of Moscow, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
India, the organizing country of the G20, has set itself the priority of its presidency to reduce poverty and finance the effects of global warming.
Its objectives are however compromised by the consequences of the war in Ukraine on the world economy.
A delicate subject for India, an important customer of Moscow in the military field and which has increased its imports of Russian oil for the past year.
The head of diplomacy of the European Union Josep Borrell said Wednesday in New Delhi convinced that India will take advantage of this G20 meeting to “make Russia understand that this war must end”.
In September, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the time was “not for war”. Remarks then perceived as a criticism of Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine.