Amid a diplomatic chill, the United States and Russia meet on Wednesday in New Delhi to kick off a G20 meeting weighed down by deep divisions over the war in Ukraine. India, however, has warned that it has no plans to meet its Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov during this two-day meeting of G20 foreign ministers.

On Saturday, a meeting of G20 finance ministers revealed deep differences over Ukraine that had prevented agreement in a joint statement, Moscow and Beijing refused to validate the paragraph mentioning this conflict.

From Uzbekistan where he visited on Wednesday, the chief American diplomat also indicated that he had no plans to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in New Delhi. A sign of the cold climate between Washington and Moscow, Antony Blinken has not been in the same room as Sergei Lavrov since the previous G20 meeting in Bali (Indonesia) last July.

Their last face-to-face meeting begins in January 2022, a few weeks before the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, on February 24, 2022. MM. Blinken and Lavrov have spoken on the phone, but have not discussed this topic.

“Destructive Politics”

Russia’s foreign minister arrived late Tuesday in India, a country with which Russia shares a long friendship and has not condemned an invasion of Ukraine. Sergei Lavrov will use his participation in the G20 to attack the West, according to a press release from his ministry.

“The destructive policies of the United States and its allies have brought the world to the brink of disaster, caused a setback in socio-economic development, and have exacerbated the situation of the poorest countries,” said the document published on Tuesday. .

Relations between the United States and China are also strained. They have turned especially sour since the destruction on February 4 by an American fighter from a Chinese balloon flying over the United States.

Washington claims it is a spy device, while Beijing presents the device as a civilian aircraft that veered off course. The incident has prompted the chief American diplomat to postpone at the last minute a rare visit planned to Beijing, which was supposed to defuse tensions with rival China.

Among the many subjects of contention between Beijing and Washington is also Taiwan, an island of 24 million people that China has wanted to annex to the rest of its territory since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.

“Frank and direct”

Ten days ago, Antony Blinken and China’s head of diplomacy, Wang Yi, spoke in Germany during an exchange described as “frank and direct” by Washington.

Mr Blinken has warned his interlocutors of the “implications and consequences” for China if it turns out to be providing “material support” to Russia in its war in Ukraine or helping it escape Western sanctions – which Beijing denies.

Chinese President Xi Jinping also received on Wednesday in Beijing Moscow’s main ally, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

India, the host country of the G20, has set its presidential priorities to reduce poverty and finance the effects of global warming. But his goals were compromised by the consequences the war in Ukraine had on the world economy.

A sensitive subject for India, an important military customer of Moscow and which has increased imports of Russian oil over the past year. EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell said Wednesday in New Delhi he was confident that India would use the G20 meeting to “make Russia understand that this war must end”.

In September, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin that now was “not the time for war”. The statement was later perceived as a criticism of Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine.