In talks thrown off balance by two unrelated and unexpected political developments far from the Indonesian resort of Bali where they met, the Group of 20 foreign ministers heard a stirring call for unity and an end to the war from their Indonesian host. But consensus appeared to remain elusive amid a deepening East-West divide driven by China and Russia on one side and the United States and Europe on the other. All the major players were there, marking the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are in the same room at the same time. Lavrov walked out of the proceedings at least twice: once when his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock spoke at the opening session and again shortly before Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was to address the second session via video, according to a Western diplomat. The meeting opened just hours after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation on Thursday, forcing his foreign secretary Liz Truss out, and was just under way when former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead. Both Johnson and Abe are well-known in the G-20 family, having attended many similar conferences and summits in the past. One aim of Friday’s meeting was to lay the groundwork for the upcoming G20 summit to be hosted by Indonesia in November. Many, if not all, of the participants expressed surprise at Abe’s shooting which came as they held the first of two plenary sessions on the importance of restoring confidence in multilateralism and upholding the rules-based world order. Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi urged the group – which included Lavrov, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Blinken and several of their European counterparts – to overcome mistrust for the sake of a planet facing multiple challenges from the coronavirus to climate change. change as well as Ukraine. “The world has not yet recovered from the pandemic, but we are already facing another crisis: the war in Ukraine,” Marsudi said. “The ripple effects are being felt globally in food, energy and the natural environment.” He noted that poor and developing countries now face the brunt of fuel and grain shortages resulting from the war in Ukraine and said the G-20 has a responsibility to take action to address the issue to ensure that the world order that rules-based remains relevant. The war in Ukraine has shaken that order, he said, as Lavrov appeared to shuffle papers without expression in his seat between the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Mexico. “Honestly, we cannot deny that it has become more difficult for people to sit together,” Marsudi said. He added plaintively: “The world is watching us, so we cannot fail.” Indeed, although they sat around the same large conference table for the inauguration, neither Lavrov nor Blinken showed interest in each other, and the two had no plans to meet. “You know, it wasn’t us who abandoned all contacts,” Lavrov told reporters after the first meeting. “It was the United States. That’s all I can say. And we don’t run after anyone who suggests meetings. If they don’t want to talk, that’s their choice.” Soon after, Blinken took direct aim at the Russian delegation, accusing Moscow at the second G-20 meeting of blocking millions of tons of grain at Ukrainian ports and causing food insecurity in large parts of the world, according to a Western diplomat. Lavrov was not there for the comments, and his replacement began Russia’s intervention by telling the group he had no comments prepared, according to the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the closed-door meeting. In a separate meeting, Blinken welcomed Marsudi’s speech. “We’re seeing the effects of COVID still linger around the world, unfortunately we’re also seeing the effects of Russian aggression against Ukraine making things even more difficult than they already were,” he told her. Despite Marsudi’s appeal, there was little prospect of reaching the kind of high-level consensus on important issues that had characterized previous gatherings. U.S. officials say they are determined not to allow distractions to distract from what they believe should be the primary goals of the Bali conference: disrupting global food and energy supplies caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine; blaming Moscow for it and focusing the response on stemming the shortages already wreaking havoc in Africa, Asia and elsewhere. However, with East and West so divided and North-South differences emerging, the potential for a G-20 agreement on a way forward seemed slim. US officials have hinted that there will be no joint communique as there has been in previous years on key issues such as terrorism, transnational crime, climate and economic issues. US officials have said it is less important for the G-20 to present a unified stance as an entity than it would be for smaller blocs of countries and individual nations to speak up and take action. Competition for support between the sides was fierce. Wang and Lavrov each stopped in various Asian capitals on their way to Bali, drumming up support for various Chinese and Russian positions and strengthening their ties among the non-aligned nations. Blinken, the French, the Germans and the British, meanwhile, all arrived in Bali from two Western-oriented and organized gatherings in Europe last week: the G-7 and NATO summits in which there was little sign of resentment or discussion and unity on Ukraine. sure. With its broader membership, including countries like host Indonesia and major developing countries like India, Brazil, South Africa and others, the G-20 is far more diverse, skeptical of the West’s intentions and more open to pleas and offers from big neighbors like China and the others. Russia and more vulnerable to their threats. Trying to strike a middle ground, this year’s G-20 chair, Indonesia, has sought to bridge potential gaps by setting an agenda that is not inherently divisive or political. The country has sought to remain neutral in its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and President Joko Widodo has guarded his comments. But as is often the case, the larger participants will likely control the final message, and China, Russia and the US are fighting for supremacy.
