“It’s hard to look at what his forces are doing in Ukraine and think how an individual or a leader could justify them. It’s corruption.” Joe Biden’s new US approach against Vladimir Putin comes on the day Indonesia formally invited the Kremlin leader to the G20 summit to be held in November in Bali. A decision taken despite the strong opposition of the US administration and balanced with the decision to open the doors of the summit also to Ukraine and its President Volodymyr Zelensky. In recent weeks, Biden had called Kaiser a “murderer” and “dictator”, accusing him of “war crimes”, and then lifted the embargo for fomenting “genocide.”
“Putin must pay for the consequences of what he did and does – Pentagon spokesman John Kirby is stunned today – and he should not be invited to the G-20.” An explicit request from Biden, who has stressed on several occasions that the Kaiser should be removed from that forum as well. And even on this occasion, according to his spokesperson, he has no intention of backing down. “We still have six months to go to the top,” Jen Psaki emphasized, “and the president was clear: this year’s G20 summit cannot go on as usual.”
The only person who did not comment on Indonesia’s decision, probably dictated by the desire not to break the facade of some so-called emerging economies that refuse to lean on conflict, was the one involved. Putin allowed his spokesman Dmitry Peskov to speak, answering journalists’ questions without clarifying almost anything, not even the actual participation of the Russian president in the G-20. He replied to those who asked him whether he would go there personally or virtually: “It has not been decided yet.” He then added that it was “too early” to say whether there was room for a two-way meeting with Zelensky. The only certainty is the phone call between Putin and Indonesia’s Widodo. “They had a very positive conversation – Putin wished the Indonesian presidency success for the G20 and assured that Russia would do everything necessary and everything possible to contribute to it,” Peskov said.
But at the moment, success for the summit seems very remote and unlikely. The figure shows all its weaknesses and above all deep internal divisions. From the beginning of the war, the US administration advocated the overthrow of Moscow. At the meeting of finance ministers on April 20, US delegates flexibly showed their position, and quit their job when Russian Anton Siluanov intervened, followed by representatives from Kyiv and Brussels. A strong decision, however, also highlighted disagreements within the G-20 that did not move on that occasion – and not only – in any particular order. They were divided between those who had left the class, those who thought it best to continue to blame the attack (eg Italy and others) and those who did not intend to distance themselves. Starting in China. Russia “is an important member of the G20 and no one has the right to expel other countries: the G20 is the most important forum for international economic cooperation that brings together major economies. The World Cup,” said Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Beijing.
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