India has a neutral attitude towards Russia’s war of aggression
Prior to the start of the G20 discussions, Lavrov also met with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Jaishankar said on Twitter that the two countries’ cooperation and G20 issues had been discussed.
Host India has a neutral attitude towards Russia’s war of aggression and has good relations with Western countries and Russia. The recent meeting of G20 finance ministers in Bengaluru, India, which failed to produce a final joint declaration, also showed that the international community is far from united on the Ukraine issue. Apart from Russia, China also refuses to agree to condemnation of Russia’s war of aggression. As of now, it remains unclear whether the G20 foreign ministers will agree to a final joint communiqué.
New Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken are also expected in New Delhi. It was initially unclear whether Blinken and Qin would also meet bilaterally after their recent spat over alleged Chinese spy balloons over the United States.
China’s position paper on ending the war started by Russia in Ukraine, received with great skepticism in the West, is likely to play a role in the G20 talks. Moscow has welcomed the paper, but according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, it currently sees no preconditions for a peaceful solution.
