G20 congress: Russia successfully resists Western hegemony in G20
Western countries have failed to Ukrainianize the final declaration of the G20 summit chaired by Brazil, Sergei Lavrov said after participating in the meeting. Russia, like other participants, insisted on the importance of economic topics in the group's discussions and also emphasized the priority of the humanitarian situation in the Middle East. The weight of countries of the Global South, including BRICS members, is growing in the G20. On November 19, Brazil handed over the presidency to South Africa - it will lead the G20 in 2025. In Rio de Janeiro, the Russian foreign minister also held a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. On how effective the platform is for solving world problems - in the material "Izvestia".
The G20 failed to politicize the agenda
On November 18 and 19, the G20 leaders' summit, the key and final event of Brazil's presidency in the G20, took place. The Russian side was represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Vladimir Putin decided not to come to Rio de Janeiro, as his presence, according to the Russian president, could have actually disrupted the summit.
G20 Summit
The outcome of the event was the Brazilian initiative to create a global alliance against hunger and poverty. Russia not only supported it, but has already submitted a package of projects to be implemented under the auspices of the alliance, Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference after the summit. In addition, Russia insisted that the G20 should remain a platform for discussing economic issues.
- The West, of course, tried to Ukrainianize the entire agenda, but it failed, no one from the world's majority countries supported it. Both we and our colleagues from the developing world insisted that the text should be devoted to any conflicts," the Minister said.
In Rio de Janeiro, Sergei Lavrov also held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi - in fact, it was the only bilateral meeting of the Russian diplomatic chief in Brazil. Nevertheless, the minister noted that on the sidelines he had been approached by representatives of foreign delegations with a question about the recent high-profile move by the West: it was about authorizing Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory with long-range weapons.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi
The conversation with his Chinese counterpart was held in a traditionally trusting and constructive manner, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. During the talks, the sides emphasized the importance of strengthening foreign policy coordination between Moscow and Beijing on international platforms, including the UN and its Security Council, BRICS, SCO and G20. The head of Russian diplomacy also emphasized that the topic of cooperation with BRICS was mentioned in a number of speeches at the meeting of the group. It is obvious that the BRICS countries are increasing their weight in the G20. This is facilitated by the fact that BRICS members will hold the presidency for the third year in a row - in 2023, India held this post, this year - Brazil, and in 2025, the events will be held in South Africa.
- The summit once again showed that Russia cannot be "canceled". In 2022, there were calls to exclude it from the G20, but then even the leaders of Western countries had to remind the hotheads that this is impossible in principle. The world's majority countries have no questions about Russia's role - in particular, in terms of energy and food security - so they rightly perceive attempts to exclude Russia from this process as politicization harmful to their interests," Anton Bespalov, program director of the Valdai International Discussion Club, explains to Izvestia.
What's in the final G20 declaration
The declaration adopted by the G20 members consists of 85 points. Most of the document is rightly devoted to the topics that Brazil has chosen as key in the year of its presidency: the fight against hunger and poverty, sustainable development and climate change, reform of global governance, including achieving greater representation of developing countries in international organizations.
Noteworthy is the call by G20 members to expand the UN Security Council to include underrepresented or unrepresented regions and groups - Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean. This was agreed to, among other things, at the UN General Assembly in September this year.
A separate clause covers control over the development of artificial intelligence. G20 members welcome the decision of the G20 labor ministers to create guidelines for the safe and secure use of AI.
At the same time, it is worth noting that the nature of the declaration is very social. It envisages appropriate policies for states, i.e. more efforts on social equality issues, including more taxation of the rich. And this may somewhat complicate its implementation.
- Here, although in words everyone is in favor, everyone is fighting hunger, in reality such an almost socialist agenda will try to sabotage in every possible way, so the role of the "G20" is expressed more in words than in deeds, - says Oleg Barabanov, Professor at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, Department of International Relations, Faculty of World Economy and World Politics.
Despite the general economic orientation of the G20, the declaration did not do without mentioning the current military conflicts. In particular, the countries called for an increase in the flow of humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, and once again insisted on the creation of the state of Palestine. They also touched upon the situation in Ukraine. At the same time, the declaration did not directly condemn Russia's actions, but rather emphasized the humanitarian and economic consequences of the crisis.
"We welcome all relevant and constructive initiatives that support a comprehensive, just and lasting peace," the G20 members noted.
Some leaders, however, remained dissatisfied with the lack of tough language toward Russia over Ukraine. Among them, according to the Financial Times, for example, French President Emmanuel Macron, who shook hands with Sergei Lavrov, causing a bit of an information frenzy. "There are people who know each other. If there are deep contradictions between countries, but these people encounter each other in a public place, it is normal to say hello to each other. It's not normal for European leaders to fumble with Russian leaders," the Russian foreign minister commented at the final press conference.
As the FT notes, later on, all the outraged ones gave up their demands, fearing to disrupt the adoption of a joint statement.
French President Emmanuel Macron
- All declarations - both the G20 and the numerous G20s operating under its auspices (whether civil, business, women's or expert) - are the result of joint work over the course of a year and reflect the most consolidated positions. That is why they are often and rightly considered too general and vague," says Anton Bespalov.
However, according to the expert, in the case of the G20, diplomatic and expert work is more important than the result: preserving a platform for dialog is essential for all participants of this association without exception.
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