https://sputnikglobe.com/20230302/indias-g20-top-diplomats-meeting-marked-by-sharp-divisions-over-ukraine-1107955270.html
India's G20 Top Diplomats' Meeting Marked by Sharp Divisions Over Ukraine
India's G20 Top Diplomats' Meeting Marked by Sharp Divisions Over Ukraine
Sputnik International
As G20 Foreign Ministers finished their New Delhi meeting without position on Ukraine, differences in approach to the issue between G7 nations and emerging superpowers within the organization become more visible than ever before.
2023-03-02T16:12+0000
2023-03-02T16:12+0000
2023-03-02T16:12+0000
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New Delhi’s President’s Estate has become a fortress during the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, with hundreds of police officers and security agents guarding the perimeter. Journalists had a chance to watch the diplomats gathering from a distance or on a big screen in the media center.Some politicians, however, volunteered to talk to the media directly. Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra, whose country was invited to the meeting but isn’t a member of the G20, has been making harsh remarks about Russia’s involvement in the Ukraine crisis, and insisting on The Hague’s support for a military solution to the conflict. Hoekstra preferred not to answer Sputnik’s question on whether the Dutch public supports his government’s aggressive wartime rhetoric, but, judging by a recent rally in Amsterdam, many people are not okay with their country’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict.French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, however, did have a seat at the table of the G20 diplomatic meeting. France was the instigator and one of the original founders of the G7, and now it joined the chorus of the Group of Seven voices within the G20 – mainly Western ones, calling for the punishment of Moscow for its involvement in the Ukraine conflict.Colonna issued a statement which looked like a strictly formulated instruction for other G20 members on what they should do in regards to the Ukraine issue – something that many emerging superpowers are unlikely to accept, at least because of its tone.Experienced reporters noticed a growing discord within the G20 between Western nations and other members of the organization on the issue of supporting Kiev or Moscow:Moscow, in turn, was asking difficult questions at the meeting about energy and food security, which are indirectly tied to the Ukrainian conflict, with the West trying to downplay their importance. Nevertheless, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov insisted on the need to investigate last year’s sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, which, according to US journalist Seymour Hersh was carried out by the US with the help of Norway.Unlike the position on the Ukraine conflict, which was not mentioned in the G20 Foreign Ministers' declaration due to objections from Moscow and Beijing, terror attacks against critical energy infrastructure were condemned by the diplomats.The final document also highlighted the importance of a full and timely implementation of the UN-mediated grain deal by all parties to the agreement, which can be considered a victory for Moscow, since Russia wanted to address the issue in New Delhi from precisely this perspective.Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will remain in New Delhi for at least one more day to take part in the Raisina Dialogue geopolitical and diplomatic conference, scheduled for March 3-4.
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g20 meeting in delhi, russia-ukraine conflict, g20 declaration in delhi, russian in g20, who is in g20
India's G20 Top Diplomats' Meeting Marked by Sharp Divisions Over Ukraine
As G20 foreign ministers finished their New Delhi meeting without a position on Ukraine, striking differences in approach to the issue between G7 nations and emerging superpowers within the organization became more visible than ever before.
New Delhi’s President’s Estate has become a fortress during the
G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, with hundreds of police officers and security agents guarding the perimeter. Journalists had a chance to watch the diplomats gathering from a distance or on a big screen in the media center.
Some politicians, however, volunteered to talk to the media directly. Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra, whose country was invited to the meeting but isn’t a member of the G20, has been making harsh remarks about
Russia’s involvement in the Ukraine crisis, and insisting on The Hague’s support for a military solution to the conflict. Hoekstra preferred not to answer Sputnik’s question on whether the Dutch public supports his government’s aggressive wartime rhetoric, but, judging by a recent rally in Amsterdam, many people are not okay with their country’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, however, did have a seat at the table of the G20 diplomatic meeting. France was the instigator and one of the original founders of the G7, and now it joined the chorus of the Group of Seven voices within the G20 – mainly Western ones, calling for the punishment of Moscow for its involvement in the Ukraine conflict.
Colonna issued a statement which looked like a strictly formulated instruction for other G20 members on what they should do in regards to the Ukraine issue – something that many emerging superpowers are unlikely to accept, at least because of its tone.
Experienced reporters noticed a growing discord within the G20 between Western nations and other members of the organization on the issue of supporting Kiev or Moscow:
“The divisions that were very bad at the beginning have only gotten worse over the course of the last year.” Matt Lee, who is a journalist and diplomatic writer for the Associated press, told Sputnik on the sidelines of the New Delhi meeting. “And now you see the Chinese siding even more with the Russians. And that is alarming, I think, to the US and to its Western allies.”
Moscow, in turn, was asking difficult questions at the meeting about energy and food security, which are indirectly tied to the Ukrainian conflict, with the West trying to downplay their importance. Nevertheless, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov insisted on the need to investigate last year’s sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, which, according to US journalist Seymour Hersh was carried out by the US with the help of Norway.
Unlike the position on the Ukraine conflict, which was not mentioned in the G20 Foreign Ministers' declaration due to objections from
Moscow and Beijing, terror attacks against critical energy infrastructure were condemned by the diplomats.
The final document also highlighted the importance of a full and timely implementation of the UN-mediated grain deal by all parties to the agreement, which can be considered a victory for Moscow, since Russia wanted to address the issue in New Delhi from precisely this perspective.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will remain in New Delhi for at least one more day to take part in the Raisina Dialogue geopolitical and diplomatic conference, scheduled for March 3-4.
