Is Russia gradually returning to the world stage with its war criminal Vladimir Putin?

At the G20 summit in Bali last year, Russia was noticeably cut off from other industrialized and developing countries. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (73), the diplomatic chain dog of war criminal Vladimir Putin (70), felt uncomfortable. And leave early.

A year later, Putin’s forces are still fighting in Ukraine, but Russia was treated more kindly at the G20 summit in the Indian capital, New Delhi.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (65, SPD) said he had not shaken Lavrov’s hand. And didn’t exchange a word with him. But while Western countries are trying to bypass Russia, the rest of the world is adopting a different strategy:

▶︎ Indian Prime Minister Nadrendra Modi (72) greeted Lavrov with a warm handshake and half a hug.

▶︎ Despite the West’s encouragement, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyj (45) was not allowed to address G20 participants. Modi refused to allow Zelensky to join via video. However, at the summit in Bali, Zelenskyj was allowed to give a moving video speech. Meaning: This time the G20 is discussing war WITHOUT Ukraine, but WITH Russia at the negotiating table.

▶︎ There was also no early departure from Lavrov in New Delhi. On the other hand. The man who spread Putin’s war propaganda visited Gandhi’s grave along with other heads of state and government. Only family photos were omitted because US President Joe Biden, Chancellor Scholz and their colleagues could not be expected to pose happily with Lying Lavrov.

︎ Brazil goes further. The country took over the presidency from India and will host the next summit in 2024. President Lula da Silva (77) defiantly invited Putin to the next G20 summit. Lula said in India: “Under no circumstances will Putin be arrested if he attends the Rio summit.”

With that, he rolled out the red carpet for Putin. Russian warmongers no longer dare travel to summits. Because there is an international arrest warrant against him for all war crimes. Now Putin has assurance that he can arrive and return home without interruption.

Far from Western countries, war weariness spreads

If that happens, Western leaders will have to decide whether to sit down with Putin or not. Chancellor Scholz made evasive statements about this in New Delhi. It is “speculation as to whether he will come or not,” Scholz said. “I don’t want to deal with that either.”

Pressure on Putin was also not maintained in the summit declaration in New Delhi. Developing countries assure that there is no clear condemnation of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Developing countries no longer want to take part in the tough stance against Russia used in the Bali Declaration a year ago.

Chancellor Scholz still considers the summit a success because at least all countries were asked to “respect international law, including territorial integrity.” But Russia is not mentioned explicitly.

And other G20 members also interpreted the statement differently. On the contrary, Indian television, which is very loyal to the government, emphasized: The G20 welcomes all peace initiatives for Ukraine.

This shows what Western negotiators discovered when grappling over the Ukraine portion of the summit document: war fatigue is spreading across the world. This could increase pressure on Ukraine to negotiate with Russia.

There was sharp criticism of the summit declaration from Ukraine. “The G20 has nothing to be proud of,” Kiev Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko said on the social network X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday.