Ahead of G20 meeting in India: Baerbock wants to close teams against Moscow

The real work begins tomorrow at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting – the war against Ukraine will certainly be an issue. Foreign Minister Berbach called for a clear stance against Russia. But it cannot be expected from the host India.

Union Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbach (Greens) called for unity against Russia at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in India. The group of states must devote its full energies to “grand global challenges”. It included “we oppose Russia’s cynical game of trying to drive a wedge into the international community.”

Russia’s war of aggression is not only affecting innocent people in Ukraine, it is “threatening the food and energy security of hundreds of millions of people around the world.”

In his statement, Baerbach noted that the UN General Assembly will hold a vote on a resolution calling for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. 141 of the 193 UN member states voted in favor of the text last Thursday. “He is confident that a majority of states in the United Nations General Assembly will once again name Russia’s brutal war,” Beierbach said.

What is Lavrov doing at the moment?

Like the recent G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in the Indonesian holiday island of Bali, it is eagerly awaited to see if Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will make a splash at the meeting in New Delhi. He then finished his speech and left the hall, ignoring the comments of the critics.

Visiting a book fair in New Delhi today, Lavrov called India a friend. Both countries reject the “neo-colonial practices” of unilateral sanctions, threats and intimidation and other pressures. Moscow repeatedly accuses the US and the “collective West” of behaving as a global colonial power. Before the debate began, Lavrov also met his Indian counterpart Subramaniam Jaishankar.

“Conflict” instead of “War”

India takes a neutral stance in Russia’s war of aggression. The country is heavily dependent on Russia for energy and weapons. So far it has not participated in any UN resolution or sanctions against Russia.

At a press conference, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwadra denied allegations that the war was being indirectly financed by buying Russian oil: “We’re not doing that. You’ve supported the war for a long time by relying on Russian energy. And there are Chinese imports.” His country is not for war: “We believe in diplomacy and dialogue.” Quadra spoke of a “conflict” in Ukraine, not a war.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized India’s role in building bridges during President Olaf Scholes’ recent state visit to New Delhi. Contribute something to peace efforts.”

India’s G20 chief negotiator, Amitabh Kant, said that despite increased diplomatic interest in the West, there was a lack of proper understanding of India’s situation: “It’s because you don’t live in this neighborhood.” Pakistan, Afghanistan and China are not neighbors of western countries. And in this South Asian region, it will be very difficult for India to anger Russia.

representing 60 percent of the world’s population

G20 working sessions are scheduled for Thursday. The first session will deal with diversity, food and energy security and development cooperation. The Russian war in Ukraine should also be discussed here. Then, topics like counter-terrorism and civil defense are on the agenda.

The G20 includes the European Union and the strongest economies on all continents. According to the group, it generates more than 80 percent of global gross domestic product, more than 75 percent of global trade and contains 60 percent of the world’s population.

With information from Charlotte Horne, ART Studio New Delhi