With Russia’s war in Ukraine as the central issue, the G20 summit began on Tuesday, November 15, in Bali, Indonesia. In a videoconference speech, President Volodimir Zelensky urged pressure on the Kremlin to end the conflict and assured that there will be no “Minsk 3”, referring to eventual negotiations. Moscow accused the West of trying to “politicize” the final declaration of the meeting.
Firmness in the G20 against Russia’s war in Ukraine, while the Kremlin seems to be further isolated.
In a long-awaited videoconference speech, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski assured that the conflict is at the most appropriate moment to pressure Russia to give up its occupationist plans and ruled out talks with his counterpart.
“I am convinced that now is the time when Russia’s war must and can be stopped (…) We will not allow Russia to take a breather, rebuild its forces and then start a new episode of terror and destabilization,” Zelensky told the audience. leaders of the main economies of the world, at the summit that takes place in Bali, Indonesia.
The statements by the head of state come at a time when the Ukrainian forces show constant progress in their counteroffensive against the invading troops. Among its notable operations is the recent liberation of Kherson, the only regional capital that was in the hands of the Russian Army since Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion on February 24.
Zelensky went further and ruled out possible talks with the Kremlin. “There will be no Minsk 3 that Russia would immediately violate,” he said, referring to talks in 2014, when Moscow illegally annexed the Crimean province in southern Ukraine; and in 2015, in subsequent clashes in the east of the country and in the midst of mutual accusations of violating the agreement.
The two sides also held a round of talks in the Belarusian capital in the first weeks of the ongoing conflict, which later succumbed to continued Russian hostilities.
The president thus founds the impulse taken by Washington, which recently held contacts with senior Russian officials, and Turkey for an eventual new round of talks. This rapprochement was confirmed on Monday, November 13, by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
“Such negotiations really took place. They happened at the initiative of the American side,” Peskov said, without providing further details of the talks.
Zelensky proposes a 10-point peace plan
kyiv claims that Moscow would violate any round of bilateral negotiations. Zelenski opts instead for greater international pressure.
In his speech, the president called on G20 leaders, including US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, to adopt a 10-point peace formula and end the war “fairly and on the basis of the UN Charter and international law”.
In this sense, the Ukrainian president – who referred to the G20 as the G19, in a way of excluding Russia from his consideration – convened an international conference to “cement a key element of the post-war security architecture in space Euro-Atlantic” and prevent a repeat of “Russian aggression”.
“Please choose your path to leadership, and together we will surely implement the peace formula,” Zelensky said.
Reiterating that Russia must withdraw all its troops from Ukraine and that there can be no territorial concessions by kyiv, the Ukrainian president called for the release of all Ukrainian prisoners and to restore “radiation safety” regarding the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. , introduce price restrictions on Russian energy resources and expand an export initiative for Ukrainian grains.
“If Russia opposes our peace formula, it will see that it only wants war,” the head of state asserted.
For Russia, Zelensky’s speech confirms unwillingness to negotiate
Asked about the Ukrainian president’s speech, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied that Volodimir Zelensky’s statement that there will be no “Minsk 3” agreement to end the fighting confirms that kyiv is not interested in holding talks on peace with Moscow, according to the Russian state news agency, RIA Novosti.
Peace talks between the two sides have been sparse in recent months, after the first attempts to negotiate a ceasefire broke down on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border during the first weeks of the war.
Meanwhile, and given the position of the majority of the G20 countries against the war that Russia calls a “special military operation”, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, accused the West of trying to “politicize” the draft joint final declaration of the summit in bali
Draft final G20 declaration charges Russia for ordering war
Most of the G20 member countries strongly condemn the war in Ukraine and highlight its devastating human and economic consequences on a global level. This is indicated in the draft of the joint declaration whose approval is scheduled at the meeting that continues in Bali.
“Our era should not be one of war (…) It is essential to defend international law and the multilateral system that safeguards peace and stability” and “the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible,” emphasizes the draft conclusions of the meeting.
Although the pronouncement is not surprising given the foundations of peaceful international relations that have governed for decades, it becomes one of the strongest pronouncements of the international bloc against Moscow. Until just two days ago, Russia vetoed the inclusion of the word war, in any context of its ongoing offensive.
The declaration has been interpreted by Europe, the United States and Australia as a victory and confirmation that Putin would be becoming more isolated and alone than ever.
An appreciation that gained strength at this summit after China and India, two traditional allies of the Kremlin, also distanced themselves by supporting the draft. Both governments agreed that the conflict has caused incalculable damage to the world.
Still without directly condemning Moscow’s hostilities, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping have expressed concern about the financial effects.
US diplomats continue to push for the final communiqué to take a strong target at Russia over the first war in Europe since the Balkan conflict in the 1990s and its devastating aftermath.
With Reuters, AP and EFE
