Icy diplomatic time for the foreign ministers of the G20

The host of the meeting, the Foreign Minister of Indonesia, Retno Marsudi, after the working meetings on Friday, said that the conflict in Ukraine has strong effects on the prices and supply of food items and energy in the world. Many participants in the meeting were of the opinion that the war should end through negotiations. “At least all the members of the G20 sat in one room together. We tried for a good atmosphere, to create bridges and not walls”, said Marsudi to the press, but questions were not allowed for the accredited media.

Lavrov left the hall

The Indonesian Foreign Minister did not mention Russia in a single word. Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, could present the Russian position on the war as much as he wanted. He insisted that Russia is “liberating” ethnic Russians in Ukraine and is “denazifying” the neighboring country. Lavrov accused the West of pressuring Ukraine to use the weapons they supply the country with. It does not fit the facts instead of presenting Russia as an aggressor or an invader, Lavrov claimed. Lavrov did not even listen to the speech given by the German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, but demonstratively left the hall. When the Indonesian host asked for an end to the war, Lavrov read the papers in front of him and did not look up.

Baerbock sees no chance for dialogue

Annalena Baerbock, like other G7 countries, made it clear that Russia is waging an illegal war against Ukraine and killing innocent people every day. Lavrov was not present at the speech of the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and the video link with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba. Blinken addressed the Russian delegation with harsh words. At a time when the conference was taking place, the Russian Foreign Minister, in front of the conference hotel in Bali, said that the West has no interest in dialogue with Moscow. There was no bilateral meeting between Lavrov and the G7 countries.

Lavrov, with an offended look, said that he would not order after these meetings. And the German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock addressed the Russian side that she is not interested in “a reasonable dialogue”. “The fact that the Russian Foreign Minister did not attend a large part of the talks in the hall, but outside it, shows that there is not a millimeter of readiness for talks by the Russian government”, said Baerbock regarding the behavior of the Russian counterpart. The G7 states had decided to participate in the meeting of the G20 foreign ministers in order not to leave the diplomatic scene to Russia alone.

“Less diplomatic gestures, more persuasive work”

Professor John Kirton of the University of Toronto, who has been following the G20 summits for years, sees it as important that Western allies were represented in Bali and did not boycott it, like the International Monetary Fund meeting in April. “The effect of the demonstrative departure from the negotiation hall is becoming smaller and smaller. This was a clear signal at the meeting of finance ministers in Washington. There was a strong symbol, that it was used for the first time after the war. If the Foreign Ministers had done the same thing now, the effect would not be so great, because we already know the feelings they have about Russia.”

G20 expert Kirton recommends less diplomatic gestures and more persuasive work. “The chance to reject Lavrov’s narrative was used. The G7’s stance on Ukraine did not resonate as strongly in the global south as it did in the north. The meeting in Bali, in the global south offered a chance to clearly articulate the message.”

G20 with Putin?

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi admitted that the war in Ukraine and its global consequences dominated the meeting in Bali. The meeting was overshadowed by the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the resignation of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party. There were no traditional photos of the meeting either. At the summit of the heads of state and government of the G20 in November, the president of Indonesia has invited both the Russian ruler, Putin, and the Ukrainian president. Who will come to Bali and who will be present only by video is not clear.