At the G-20 ministerial meeting in Brazil – the issues of the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will both be in Rio de Janeiro for the first high-level G-20 meeting this year.

China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, decided not to attend, sending Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ma Zhaoxu in his stead.

In a world torn by conflict and discord, Brazil, which took over the rotating presidency of the G-20 from India in December, expressed hope that the event would become, as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said, “the forum that can make the most positive impact.” international agenda”.

“Swept off the table”

But the Brazilian leader’s efforts to turn the G-20 meeting into a space where common ground could be found suffered on Sunday when the veteran leftist sparked a diplomatic firestorm by accusing Israel of genocide and comparing its military campaign in the Gaza Strip to the Holocaust.

The comments sparked outrage in Israel, which declared him persona non grata, and could overshadow any efforts to de-escalate the conflict at the G-20 meeting.

“If Lula imagined that he would propose peace resolutions on Israel or Ukraine, all of that was simply swept off the table,” Igor Lucena, a specialist in international relations, told the AFP news agency.

More than four months after the October 7 start of the Gaza war, which was sparked by Hamas attacks on Israel, there are few signs of progress towards peace.

On Tuesday, the United States vetoed a new United Nations Security Council resolution on the ceasefire.

There is a similarly bleak outlook for Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has also divided G-20 members.

Despite Western efforts to condemn the invasion by President Vladimir Putin, the latest G-20 summit ended with a subdued statement condemning the use of force, but Russia, which has friendly ties with India and Brazil, among others, was not specifically named.

Britain announced on Wednesday it was imposing sanctions on six Russian officials over the death in prison of opposition leader Alexei Navalny last week, and Foreign Secretary David Cameron said he planned to use the meeting in Rio de Janeiro to directly “remind” Lavrov of Russian aggression.

“No one should doubt the repressive nature of the Russian system,” Cameron said in a statement.

Underscoring the deadlock at the G-20, the Group of Seven (G-7), which includes the largest economies – Ukraine’s allies Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States – will hold its virtual meeting on Saturday, the second anniversary of the Russian invasion because of this war.

“We put out fires”

The G-20 ministerial meeting will begin with a session on “de-escalation of international tensions”.

On Thursday, ministers will discuss global governance reform, a favorite issue of Brazil, which wants countries in the Global South to have a greater voice in institutions such as the UN, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

“The number and severity of conflicts have returned to Cold War levels,” said Mauricio Lyrio, Brazil’s top diplomat for G-20 political talks.

“We need to adapt the international system to prevent new conflicts,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “Now we’re just putting out fires.”

Brazil also wants to use its presidency of the G-20 to promote the fight against poverty and climate change.

The meeting will also allow for bilateral meetings, although a meeting between Blinken and Lavrov seems unlikely given the rising tensions.

The last time they met in person was in March 2023 during the G-20 meeting in India.

Before flying to Rio de Janeiro, A. Blinken held a meeting with LI Lula da Silva in Brazil on Wednesday morning and called the negotiations very good.

Founded in 1999, the G-20 unites most of the world’s largest economies.

Originally an economic forum, it has recently become increasingly involved in international politics.

But with elections in about 50 countries this year, including key G-20 members such as the United States and Russia, the group’s prospects for making much progress are slim, Lucena said.

A Brazilian government source said that with the G-20 struggling to reach a consensus recently, the hosts dropped their requirement for a joint statement at every meeting, except for the annual summit in Rio de Janeiro in November.