Energy News
TRADE WARS
US's Blinken says no plans to meet Russia, China at G20
US's Blinken says no plans to meet Russia, China at G20
By Shaun Tandon and Manon Billing
New Delhi (AFP) March 1, 2023

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken said Wednesday he had no plans to meet his Russian or Chinese counterparts at a G20 foreign ministers' meeting, as Ukraine and China tensions overshadow attempts by host India to forge unity among the world's biggest economies.

The gathering in New Delhi on Thursday will be the first time US Secretary of State Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have been in the same room since a G20 meeting in Bali last July.

"If Russia... were genuinely prepared to engage in meaningful diplomacy necessary to end the aggression, of course we'd be the first to work to engage, but there's zero evidence of that," Blinken told reporters ahead of his Wednesday arrival in Delhi.

A meeting of G20 finance ministers in Bengaluru last week failed to agree on a common statement after Beijing and Moscow sought to water down language on Russia's war with Ukraine.

But Washington was optimistic this week's summit would produce a declaration reflecting "the majority, if not the overwhelming majority of the G20 continuing to stand against Russia's war", a senior State Department official said.

Lavrov arrived late Tuesday in India -- which has not condemned the war -- and will use his G20 attendance to lay into Western countries, according to the Russian foreign ministry.

The West wants to "take revenge for the inevitable disappearance of the levers of dominance from its hands", the ministry's English-language statement said.

"The destructive policy of the US and its allies has already put the world on the brink of a disaster," it added.

- 'Spy balloon' -

The US secretary of state also said he had no plans to meet Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang on the sidelines of the of the two-day G20 gathering.

Blinken had a fiery encounter with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi last month in Germany after the United States shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon over its east coast on February 4.

The incident led Blinken to nix a rare trip to China, slamming the "unacceptable violation of US sovereignty and international law" which "must never again occur", the State Department said.

Beijing, which has also been angered by Washington's stance on Taiwan, denies it uses spy balloons and says the craft was for weather research.

Wang "urged the US side to change course, acknowledge and repair the damage that its excessive use of force caused to China-US relations", state news agency Xinhua reported.

- 'Material support' -

Blinken also warned Wang against providing "material support" to Russia's faltering war effort, as is speculated in Washington. Beijing denies any such intention.

Xinhua quoted Wang last week as saying China was willing to "strengthen strategic coordination" with Russia after meeting Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Blinken was also expected on Friday to meet his counterparts from the Quad group, which includes the United States, Japan, Australia and India, and is seen as a bulwark against China in the Asia-Pacific region.

Japan's foreign ministry said the meeting would affirm the group's "commitment to strengthening a free and open international order based on the rule of law".

- Awkward hosts -

India wants to use its G20 presidency this year to focus on issues such as alleviating poverty and climate finance, but the Ukraine war and its effects are set to dominate the agenda.

Hosting the G20 puts India in a tricky position, because while it shares Western concerns about China, it is also a major buyer of Russian arms and has ramped up Russian oil imports.

India has not condemned the Ukraine invasion, although Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Putin last year that this was "not a time for war", in comments seen as a rebuke of Moscow.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he was confident India would use the meeting to "make Russia understand that this war has to finish".

"Certainly the success of the meeting today will be measured in respect to what we will be able to do on that," he told reporters in Delhi.

Related Links
Global Trade News

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
TRADE WARS
Macron warns EU-South America deal hinges on environment
Paris (AFP) Feb 25, 2023
French President Emmanuel Macron said Saturday that a long-delayed trade deal between the EU and four Latin American nations "is not possible" if they do not follow European environmental policies. The EU in 2019 reached a trade deal with the Mercosur bloc, comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, after 20 years of negotiations. However, the deal has yet to be ratified, with concerns over Brazil's environmental record under former president Jair Bolsonaro a major concern. It has also ... read more

TRADE WARS
EU commission says high seas deal a 'historic moment'

Energy industry must lead climate fight, says COP president

Italy deficit balloons on green homes scheme

Massive power cut plunges Argentina into dark for hours

TRADE WARS
China probes mining practices in 'lithium capital of Asia'

On the road to better solid-state batteries

Salt could play key role in energy transition

The race to develop the battery of the future

TRADE WARS
UK offshore staff 'want public ownership of energy firms'

Machine learning could help kites and gliders to harvest wind energy

Polish MPs vote to make building wind turbines easier

New research shows porpoises not harmed by offshore windfarms

TRADE WARS
High-member low-dimensional Sn-based perovskite solar cells

Renewables help offset rise in coal emissions, IEA says

Corralling ions improves viability of next generation solar cells

New method creates material that could create the next generation of solar cells

TRADE WARS
Framatome delivers Hinkley Point C reactor pressure vessel

A year on, Ukraine's embattled nuclear plant turned Russian 'military base'

Eleven EU states unite to strengthen nuclear power

Czechs plan small nuclear reactor in 2032 to boost energy supply

TRADE WARS
Cow manure fuels French tractors

How a record-breaking copper catalyst converts CO2 into liquid fuels

Biogas produced with waste from apple juice making can minimize use of fossil fuels in industry

Biorefinery uses microbial fuel cell to upcycle resistant plant waste

TRADE WARS
UAE's ADNOC Gas to raise $2.5bn in world-leading IPO

French court dismisses case against TotalEnergies E. Africa oil project

Curse or blessing? In Uganda, oil project gets mixed reviews

Canada oil-gas sector accused of thwarting climate efforts

TRADE WARS
Climate trends in the west, today and 11,000 years ago

Jill Biden says Horn of Africa needs more drought relief

Horn of Africa on track for sixth failed rainy season: climate body

Lake Garda tourists flock to island reconnected by drought

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.