G20: in Bali, against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, the chief diplomats avoid each other
Meeting of the heads of diplomacy of the G20 countries in Bali, Indonesia, on July 8, 2022: Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, between his Saudi and Mexican colleagues.
via REUTERS - RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
The meeting of G20 foreign ministers taking place this weekend in Bali, bringing together 19 of the world's most developed economies as well as the European Union, is the first major international meeting since the beginning of the war in Ukraine on February 24.
A summit that takes place in a special atmosphere and gives rise to scenes worthy of a play, with everyone avoiding meeting.
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The war in Ukraine hangs over this G20 summit.
And the presence for the first time since the start of the
war in Ukraine
of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov does not seem to favor a calm and serene atmosphere.
Indonesian foreign minister called on G20 countries to end the war and settle differences at the negotiating table and not on the battlefield, a somewhat ambiguous statement, she still heard cries calling for an end to the war when she greeted Sergei Lavrov on arrival.
A meeting of ministers of the twenty countries with the most developed economies, in which participate Western countries which have imposed sanctions on Moscow, but also others which have not followed this movement.
Indonesia also resisted pressure to exclude Russia from the meeting, agreeing in return to invite the Ukrainian foreign minister to speak.
The Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs also avoids addressing the subject, wishing to focus on economic issues according to him.
Proof that there is a special atmosphere, Sergei Lavrov left the scene so as not to hear the speech - online - of his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, just like that of the head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock, whose country chairs currently the G7.
"
The fact (...) that the Russian Foreign Minister spent a large part of the negotiations not in the room, but outside the room, underlines that there is currently not a millimeter of will to dialogue on the part of the Russian government
”, she insisted, insisting on the food crisis which threatens.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has addressed his Russian counterpart in closed-door talks, demanding that Moscow allow grain shipments from war-ravaged Ukraine, a Western official has said, AFP reports .
“
To our Russian colleagues: Ukraine is not your country.
His grain is not your grain.
Why are you blocking ports?
You should let the grain out
,” Mr. Blinken told Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whom he declined to meet separately, according to a Western official present. Russia “will not run” after the United States for talks, Sergei Lavrov said at the time.
It is not us who have abandoned the contacts, it is the United States (...) We are not going to run after anyone suggesting a meeting
, ”he told journalists.
The last meeting between the two ministers dates back to last January in Geneva.
A meeting which ends this Friday and during which little progress should be made on burning issues, in particular concerning the repercussions of the war in Ukraine.
There will also be no family photo as usual, Indonesian authorities said.
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