India has been leading a great diplomatic festival all year: more than 200 meetings of international delegations held in 60 cities throughout the country to culminate with a final summit in a chaotic capital that has brought together more than one head of state for three days. from 40 countries. The G-20 concluded this Sunday in New Delhi trying to present in writing an image of unity that does not reflect a global reality fragmented by increasingly marked blocs.
Originally, the group of leaders pushed the global economy out of a dangerous Asian financial crisis and promised that a new world order would be governed by international cooperation. But the current picture is dominated by a new cold war between the two superpowers, the United States and China, and the confrontation between Moscow and the West following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The great democracies lose influence in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America in the face of authoritarian regimes such as Beijing. Meanwhile, the Global South, where developing countries are located, is moving on several fronts demanding more attention and voice in the framework of global governance.
For President Joe Biden, the absence of his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Delhi has been a good opportunity to take center stage at the summit, or at least share it with the host Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India. Biden has taken the opportunity to present an ambitious agenda with new financing agreements for low-income countries and a mega infrastructure project (a maritime and railway corridor connecting India with the Middle East) that seeks to counteract the new Silk Road promoted. by Beijing at a time when the US’s traditional Arab partners are deepening their ties with China.
The leaders’ summit leaves a bittersweet taste in the mouth. There were good words, but few groundbreaking commitments. Modi celebrated as a personal victory having achieved, as host and great balancer in power games, a consensus for all his colleagues to sign a final declaration that has been criticized for its empty and recurring content on climate change issues. .
But the document has made more noise for the section in which it includes the position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine: it addresses the economic impact of the war and reiterates support for the UN resolution that opposes Russia’s aggression, but does not condemn the attack after the Kremlin, with the support of Beijing, rejected language blaming Russia for the conflict.
Faced with Moscow’s threats to block the final document for the first time at a G-20 summit if its position was not adopted, the delegations are satisfied with the agreement despite the fact that it reveals a greater division regarding unconditional support for Kiev. It is also a blow to the influence of Western countries, which have tried without success to get the rest to join in a stronger condemnation of Russia.
But in front of the gallery, countries like the United States have praised a declaration that “does a very good job of defending the principle that states cannot use force to seek territorial acquisitions or violate the territorial integrity of other states,” he said. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also termed the Indian summit a success and said that due to the consolidated position of the countries of the Global South, Russia managed to ensure that the G-20 agenda was not overshadowed by the conflict in Ukraine.
“We were able to neutralize the efforts of the West to Ukrainianize the agenda of the summit,” Lavrov boasted. In kyiv, however, they were not so happy. The Government of Volodímir Zelenski stated that the “G-20 has nothing to be proud of.”
China’s presence in Delhi, despite its great geopolitical weight, went unnoticed due to the absence of Xi Jinping. But diplomatic sources from the European delegations say that they are surprised by how “participatory” Beijing’s envoy, Prime Minister Li Qiang, has been, who “has rowed in the same direction as the West” in the proposals to fight climate change. and support developing countries more. Even the Chinese delegation, European sources say, after lobbying with Moscow to tone down the war in Ukraine in the final declaration, would have mediated with its Russian ally so that it ended up giving in and signing it.
The summit culminated with Modi passing the baton to Brazilian Lula da Silva, who will host the G-20 summit next year in Rio de Janeiro. Lula gave an unexpected wink to Putin, absent in Delhi, assuring that he will not be arrested if he decides to travel to Brazil. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Putin in March, accusing him of war crimes. The CPI emerged from a roadmap adopted in 1998 in the Rome Statute, to which Brazil is a signatory.
