by C. Alessandro Mauceri –
The work of the G20, which in 2023 will be held under the leadership of India, will take place from 9 to 10 September in New Delhi, India.
Among the invited guests were Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin. Only eight non-member states appear on the website of the international forum, which has brought together the leaders of the world’s 20 advanced and emerging economies since 1999: Bangladesh, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, Nigeria, the Netherlands, Oman and Singapore. To them must be added Spain, which has always been invited to participate in meetings as a representative of the interests of the European Union, even though it is not an official member of the G20. Also invited were the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the president of the European Council, Charles Michel.
Surprisingly absent Ukraine, a surprising figure given that it had been invited to both the G20 held in Indonesia in 2022 and the G7 in Japan, in May 2023. No violation of the rules, however. India, as a host country, has the power to invite a small circle of countries outside the G20 group.
Putin has not yet confirmed his presence in New Delhi. His participation in the G20 forum would be a highlight: the first face-to-face meeting with Western leaders since Russia invaded Ukraine.
India has made it known that the summit will not only talk about the conflict: “It must be a forum that focuses on development and growth”. However, there were those who saw the decision to welcome Russia with open arms and not to have invited Ukraine as an important message, a change of direction of international interest towards the war in Ukraine, although India did not supported the resolution against Russian aggression preferring the path of abstention.
Beyond the economic interests that revolve around the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, there are not a few Western countries that have begun to show a certain tiredness in continuing to provide aid to Kiev without seeing concrete results in return. For the rest, the fact that relations between the BRICS are still solid, and that the economic interests of many G20 member countries are directed more towards Russia than towards Ukraine, cannot have failed to have weighed.
