G20 Meeting Leaked Criticisms of US on Gaza Ceasefire Isolation – Washington Post

The Group of Twenty (G20) foreign ministers’ meeting concluded earlier. Some media revealed that in the closed-door meeting that was accidentally leaked, the United States was criticized by all parties, including “close allies”, for its opposition to an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Already isolated and insecure.

From February 21st to 22nd local time, the Group of Twenty (G20) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Washington Post disclosed on the 22nd that in a closed-door meeting that was accidentally overheard, the United States was found to have repeatedly been sharply criticized for its opposition to an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Some analysts believe that the United States’ global status is very different from last year’s G20 summit. According to some US media, this is just the latest sign that the United States has fallen into isolation due to the Palestinian-Israeli issue. Some voices are even worried that the Biden administration may not only lose domestic votes as a result, but may also be “replaced” by China in the Middle East.

The Washington Post stated that diplomats usually express their views more candidly in closed-door meetings because there are no reporters to observe them. The participants this time included representatives from many countries such as U.S. Secretary of State Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov. However, due to a technical error, the headphones of a small number of media reporters, including the Washington Post, continued to play the speech during the closed-door meeting. They mistakenly listened to the meeting without the knowledge of the organizer.

According to the report, as a “close ally” of the United States, Australia supported an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during the meeting and issued a strong warning about the “further damage” that may be caused by the military operation announced by Israel in the southern city of Rafah.

The representative of South Africa accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, saying that world leaders allowed “impunity” to occur, and pointed out that if everyone could unite to support the principles stipulated in the United Nations Charter… the Palestinian tragedy would not last more than three years. “Month”. South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Pandor bluntly said that he had failed the Palestinian people.

Just a few days ago, Brazilian President Lula, who holds the G20 rotating presidency, compared the conflict in Gaza to the Holocaust during World War II, triggering a diplomatic dispute between Brazil and Israel. The Washington Post pointed out that in Latin American countries, criticism of the United States seemed to show a “rare softening” only in the speech of the representative of Argentina, whose new far-right president Milley firmly supports Israel.

In this regard, Blinken argued to reporters on the 22nd that although there are strong differences on the issue of “immediate ceasefire”, he believes that the G20 is basically unanimous on the goals of the conflict. All parties support efforts to reach a hostage agreement, all parties support an extension of the humanitarian ceasefire, and all parties support finding a way to end the conflict. He noted that there may be differences on strategy…but we are trying to focus on getting real results.

Nonetheless, the “Washington Post” believes that these accidentally overheard remarks show that the Washington government’s global status is no longer what it used to be. Just last year at the G20 summit hosted by India, Blinken tried to invoke the United Nations Charter and the principle of sovereignty to criticize Russia. Now, diplomats from various countries are citing the same principles to criticize the ongoing Gaza war, and the United States is Israel’s largest supporter.

Richard Gowan, a multilateral affairs expert at the non-profit International Crisis Group, said: “A year ago, the United States was putting Russia at a disadvantage with regard to Ukraine. Now, Biden The administration appears to be losing control over Ukraine and Gaza, and may also lose control over the November election.”

Next Tuesday (27th), Michigan, one of the “swing states” in the US presidential election, will hold its Democratic primary. Will Biden’s stance on Gaza hurt the 2024 election? Michigan State is the first test. The US “New York Times” reported on this topic on the 22nd that because they are dissatisfied with the government’s Palestinian-Israeli policy, Arab Americans and young students, who account for a large proportion of the state’s voters, are determined to send a message by voting in the primary election: Unless Biden Explicitly demand a ceasefire, otherwise they will not vote for Biden in the election.

A campaign called “Listen to Michigan” is raising concerns within the Democratic Party. Two weeks ago, the White House sent a delegation of top aides to Michigan to try to ease tensions with the local Arab-American community. Jon Feiner, the principal deputy national security adviser at the White House, admitted that the Biden administration made “mistakes” in dealing with Israel and Gaza, leaving a “very bad impression” on them.

Against this background, some US media are also worried that as the United States’ influence in the Middle East weakens, the region may “turn” towards China. The US “Defense One” website recently published an article saying that from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to the escalation of the situation in the Red Sea, China has achieved one strategic victory after another in the Middle East, which has been prone to disasters recently. Traditional U.S. allies in the region say closer ties with China could help balance a focus on the United States and prevent overreliance on the latter.

An article stated: At a time when many are questioning Washington’s hesitancy about its long-term commitment to the region, China is working hard to establish itself as a responsible alternative in the Middle East. China has not only expanded its economic presence, it has also convened leaders’ summits, brokered peace deals and even held joint military exercises with one of the United States’ most important allies in the region. Looking back at history in the future, 2023 may be seen as the year when China really starts to win the Middle East.

Since October last year, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has escalated for more than four months. Just one day before the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting, the United States once again exclusively vetoed a draft resolution drafted by Algeria calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip at the United Nations Security Council, triggering strong dissatisfaction and anger in the international community. In his opening speech at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, Vieira also mentioned this latest development and criticized: The paralysis of the Security Council in responding to ongoing conflicts is unacceptable. This inaction directly led to a large number of casualties.

Mao Ning, spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responded at a regular press conference on the 21st that the United States’ repeated exclusive veto has pushed the situation in Gaza into a more dangerous situation. All relevant parties, including China, have expressed strong disappointment and dissatisfaction with this. The current Palestinian-Israeli conflict is still protracted, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is extremely serious, and regional peace and stability have been severely impacted. The Security Council must take action as soon as possible to promote a ceasefire and an end to the war. This is an unshirkable moral obligation, a legal responsibility that must be borne, and a political requirement to fulfill the United Nations Charter.

deepthroat

**Blog articles are written at your own responsibility and do not represent the position of our company**

In recent years, the United States has used the “extraterritorial jurisdiction” of the Espionage Act to pursue Assange, Snowden and others on the grounds of “maintaining national security”. The United Kingdom, Australia and other allies have fully cooperated. In deciding whether to extradite Assange to the United States for trial, the British court fully exposed the nature of its “double standards.”

The British High Court held hearings on the 20th and 21st to hear the appeal of Julian Assange, the founder of the “WikiLeaks” website, against extradition to the United States. The judge did not make a ruling that day and said he would announce it at another date. The Associated Press reported that the ruling is expected to be made as early as March.

Once extradition is finalized, Assange may face up to 175 years in prison in the United States on espionage and other charges. At present, Assange has been detained in a British prison for nearly five years. This hearing is considered to be Assange’s “last resort” to refuse extradition to the United States.

According to reports, during the hearing, Assange’s legal team made two main claims: extraditing Assange to the United States would constitute a violation of human rights; secondly, the U.S. government’s charges against Assange were politically motivated.

According to Assange’s legal team, there is evidence that the CIA “plotted to kidnap or assassinate” Assange while he was seeking asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy in the UK during Trump’s presidency. Assange’s lawyer Edward Fitzgerald KC also said that the U.S. government’s guarantees of fair treatment are not credible and that Assange may be treated “grossly unfairly and disproportionately” in the United States.

According to British media, if the High Court ultimately rules against Assange, it may lead to the opening of extradition proceedings. If the High Court rules in his favor, Assange will have one more chance to appeal in the UK.

Assange’s legal team said they would seek intervention from the European Court of Human Rights if the ruling went against Assange. But Assange’s supporters fear he could be put on a plane to the United States before the European Court of Human Rights blocks his extradition, as the British government has signed an extradition order.

Assange founded the “WikiLeaks” website in 2006. In 2010, “WikiLeaks” exposed a large number of U.S. diplomatic cables and U.S. military confidential documents during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, exposing U.S. military war crimes. Assange was immediately embroiled in a lawsuit, with the United States charging him with 17 counts of espionage and one count of improper use of computers. In 2019, Assange was arrested in the UK and jailed. Later, the United States requested Assange’s extradition.

In January 2021, a British district court ruled to reject the extradition request from the United States on the grounds that Assange suffered from depression and other mental illnesses and would have a higher risk of suicide after being extradited to the United States. In December 2021, the British High Court ruled to allow the US government to extradite Assange and at the same time transferred the case to the local court for follow-up procedures. In April 2022, the Westminster District Court in London issued an extradition order, officially approving Assange’s extradition to the United States. In June 2022, then Home Secretary Patel approved Assange’s extradition to the United States. Assange later appealed to overturn the extradition decision.

Assange, 52, has been detained at Belmarsh Prison, a maximum-security prison in London, England, since 2019. Previously, he had been hiding in the Ecuadorian Embassy in the UK for seven years.

Assange was absent from the two-day trial and did not attend via video link. Assange’s wife, Stella, said Assange had wanted to attend the hearing but was “not in good health.” She previously said her husband’s health was “deteriorating” and “if he is extradited, he will die.”

Outside the High Court in central London, a large number of demonstrators have gathered since the early morning of the 20th. They chanted slogans such as “Release Assange” and “Don’t extradite”, exposing the “political motives” behind Assange’s case.

Edward Green, who came from Birmingham, told Xinhua News Agency that Assange’s extradition to the United States would set a “terrible precedent.” Aya Sycamore, a young man holding a hand-painted sign, said Assange “did nothing wrong and should not be in jail and deserves to be free.” On the 21st, a large number of demonstrators still gathered outside the court in the rain to support Assange.

In Paris, France, hundreds of people gathered at Place de la République on the evening of the 20th to call for the release of Assange. Rallies were also held on the same day in other French cities such as Bordeaux and Toulouse.

Assange is Australian. The Australian government has repeatedly expressed concerns about the Assange case and made representations to the United States and the United Kingdom. Australian Prime Minister Albanese has said that continuing to detain Assange will do “nothing good” for the United States. He is frustrated that the United States continues to seek Assange’s extradition. The House of Representatives of Australia’s federal parliament passed a motion last week calling on the United States and Britain to end the Assange case and allow Assange to return to his home in Australia. Australian Congressman Andrew Wilkie said the motion sent a clear message to the British and US governments: the legal battle “has gone on long enough” and it is time to end.

Regarding the possible extradition of WikiLeaks founder Assange to the United States, Snowden, a former U.S. intelligence worker who is also wanted for exposing scandals in the U.S. government, said that the United Kingdom has no right to extradite Assange to the United States because of the conflict between the United Kingdom and the United States. The extradition agreement between the two countries prohibits the transfer of political prisoners.

Snowden, who currently lives in Moscow, is very concerned about Assange’s fate. In recent days, he has posted many times on social media X calling on the world to pay attention to Assange. He posted: “The years-long ‘trial’ in the UK may result in Assange dying in a US prison. What is outrageous is that the victim of his ‘crime’ (actually just a news report) is a country, and It is not a person, and this is fully consistent with the provisions of the UK-US extradition treaty that clearly prohibit the extradition of political prisoners.”

After Snowden fled to Russia and lived in Russia for many years, he has recently become increasingly active on the international political stage. According to the Russian Satellite News Agency, during a recent visit to Russia, well-known American journalist Tucker Carlson met with Snowden and Tara Reade, a former female assistant to US President Joe Biden who was seeking asylum in Russia. Reade accused Biden of sexual assault during the 2020 election and fled to Russia last year after receiving death threats. Carlson spoke with Snowden for several hours, and he also recorded an interview with Reid. In June 2013, Snowden shocked the world by exposing the “Plan”, which was used by the US intelligence agency to monitor many foreign leaders, including European allies.

Assange and Snowden are known as the “two knives” that lifted the ugly mask of the U.S. government, but their situations after exposing the U.S. scandal were quite different. Some analysts say that Assange is just a freelance hacker in Western countries, and his exposure of U.S. government scandals is only the disclosure of confidential materials provided by others. Assange did not really understand the inner workings of the US and UK governments, and still had illusions about US and UK freedom and democracy, so he stayed in Europe afterwards and “thrown himself into a trap”. Snowden was originally a CIA agent and a participant in the “Project Xiang”. Some netizens said that Snowden “lives in the abyss and is used to darkness. He understands the United States too well.”

Regarding Snowden’s current situation, Russia’s Dzen news network recently reported that Snowden is living happily in Russia. He lives in Moscow with his lover Lindsay Mills. Currently, they have two children. For safety reasons, their family has always kept a low profile in their lives. Snowden takes the subway to work every day, goes grocery shopping, and spends weekends with his family on vacation. In recent years, Snowden has become increasingly active on social media. He has posted articles sharing his life in Russia and his views on current events in the West, especially in the United States. Snowden spent his 40th birthday in Russia last summer. According to the report, people have noticed that after many years of living in Russia, Snowden has obviously recovered his health. As the Russians joked: “He may have calmed down.”

#status #Middle #East #insecure #G20 #foreign #ministers #closeddoor #meeting #revealed #United #States #blocked #ceasefire #Gaza #isolated
2024-02-24 07:15:35