India refused to invite Ukraine to the G20 summit, but invited Putin personally. The country has not yet supported Kyiv and continues trade relations with Moscow. Focus figured out what is the reason for such a position of India and how it can be persuaded to cooperate with Ukraine
Ukraine will not be at the G20 summit, which will be held in India on September 9 and 10, 2023. The organizers did not send invitations to the summit of heads of state and government. It is expected that the results of the work will be adopted by the Declaration of Leaders, which will mark the commitment to the priorities discussed and agreed during the relevant meetings at the level of ministers and working groups.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar explained that the decision not to invite Ukraine was made because the G20 is about growth and development, not conflict resolution – that’s what the UN Security Council is for.
Note that Russia will participate in the summit, it is a member of the G20, and the issue of its exclusion is not considered.
At G20 summits, in addition to representatives of the organization, the country organizing the event may invite leaders of other countries that are not members of the organization. This is how Ukraine was represented at the Indonesian summit last year. President Volodymyr Zelensky received an invitation personally from the President of Indonesia during negotiations. The leaders of Cambodia, Spain, the Netherlands, Senegal, Rwanda, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Fiji and Suriname were also invited then. This year the list of invitees looks like this – Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.
Why Ukraine was not invited to the G20 summit
The news of Ukraine’s absence from the G20 summit has sparked a lot of speculation and reproaches that India’s political leaders do not support Kyiv, but are more inclined towards Russia. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, India has not yet supported Ukraine and continues to have trade relations with Moscow. The country, together with China, are the main buyers of Russian oil, which later appears on the European market as “non-Russian”. In February 2023, at a meeting of financial leaders of the G20 countries, Indian representatives refused to discuss additional sanctions against Russia. Moreover, they called for a return to the priority format – to move away from the topic of war, and to focus on economic problems.
“It was said that we would not be invited back in the spring of 2023. This was explained by the fact that they do not want to turn an economic event into disputes,” says Focus East Asian expert Natalya Butyrskaya.
Volodymyr Zelensky received an invitation to the G20 summit in Indonesia personally from the President of the country
Photo: Getty Images
According to the expert, India is a country that balances according to its own interests and does not succumb to any pressure from outside. Regarding the war in Ukraine, Indian diplomats have already expressed the thesis that Europe wants this war to become a problem for the whole world, but when a war breaks out in the eastern regions, it is called a “local problem”.
The G20 want to hear Russia’s position on the continuation of the war
Despite India’s reluctance to pay attention to the topic of the war in Ukraine, it will still be discussed on the sidelines of the summit and on the sidelines. According to political expert Igor Popov, this G20 summit could be a continuation of peace initiatives for the war in Ukraine.
“The G20 summit can be viewed as the second round of negotiations on a peace initiative for Ukraine. The first was in Jeddah, the second in New Delhi, and the final was already in New York at the UN General Assembly. There were many complaints in Saudi Arabia due to the fact that “There are no representatives of Russia, now it will be without the participation of Ukraine. That is, what we have – we were given the opportunity to speak out and convey our positions, now Russia will be given such an opportunity. Then we must find a common denominator already at the UN General Assembly in September of this year,” notes Focus Popov.
Zelensky presented the Ukrainian formula of peace to Modi as part of a working visit to Japan to attend the G7 summit
Photo: Office of the President
The expert notes that despite the fact that India is not a member of the International Criminal Court, Russian President Vladimir Putin will not participate in the summit. Directives and theses will be handed over at the level of representation of Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin or Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
“Ukraine is by no means a member of the G20, moreover, our economy is now two-thirds dependent on foreign aid. Unfortunately, it is not our topic now to call for help – indeed, there are other platforms for this. The world is cynical and pragmatic, now Ukraine India is not interested. There are global problems and interests of their country. Therefore, we need not look for “treason”, but look for common points of interest, “commented Focus political analyst Alexander Kochetkov.
How to improve cooperation with India
Before the start of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, India was one of the main buyers of Ukrainian weapons and equipment. There were long-term contracts between the countries for the repair and modernization of Indian military equipment, in particular An-32 aircraft, the sale of electronic warfare equipment, and radar systems. The state enterprise “Zarya” – “Mashproekt” was fulfilling a contract for the modernization of the engines of the ships of the Indian Navy.
“India has always been interested in modern weapons, this is a niche where you can look for cooperation. For example, we can recall our naval drones, let me remind you that India is a maritime power. Our naval drones now have good PR, promotion and demonstration of their combat capabilities,” Kochetkov notes. .
Important Advisors Decide: Why Negotiations for Peace in Ukraine Are Conducted by Minor Persons
According to Butyrskaya, India has a good memory and gratitude to the USSR, and now to Russia, for the support provided earlier. At one time, the country was 80% dependent on Soviet weapons, now this figure is about 30-35% – they understand that Russian weapons are not of such high quality and effective.
It should be noted that Oleksandr Polishchuk, who recently served as Deputy Minister of Defense, has been appointed the new Ambassador of Ukraine to India. His powers included, among other things, the work of the interdepartmental commission on the policy of military-technical cooperation and export control.
The Indian army still uses Soviet weapons and continues to arm further
Photo: Getty Images
Butyrskaya assures that we will not be able to make India an ally, as it happened historically, that she does not build allied relations, but acts only in her own interest. If earlier the country took a position of non-alignment, for example, during the Cold War, now the authorities are joining a wide range of organizations where there is a benefit. These are BRICS, SCO, and QUAD (USA, Australia, India, Japan). She is trying to maintain relations with the United States and Russia, despite territorial contradictions, continues to trade with China.
“Our experts and diplomats are looking for contacts and ways to improve relations with the country, but this is a very difficult task. Before that, there have already been unsuccessful attempts from representatives of the United States, Japan, Australia and other European leaders. Today, India is the largest country in the world in terms of population with a dynamic GDP growth “Western analysts call it a force that can claim regional leadership and compete with China. The war in Ukraine greatly affected food prices and inflation, which India also felt. At the same time, they continue to believe that sanctions are the reason that harm, not Russian aggression,” says Butyrskaya.
Today, India is the largest country in the world in terms of population with dynamic GDP growth.
Photo: From open sources
She notes that the format of the work of the G20 summits provides for work on their organization by the country that previously hosted and should host the next one. This is a kind of transfer of cases and joint preparation. Last year in Indonesia, it was the Indian side that helped prepare the final communiqué, which included the phrase that now is not the time for war. At the same time, their diplomats ensured that the statements of the Russian side about withdrawing from the grain deal remained only statements, it continued to work. In addition, but the Indian representatives have already joined the Ukrainian formula for peace, were at the talks in Copenhagen and Jeddah.
Interviewed Focus experts predict a wave of informational provocations from Russian propaganda. First of all, they will try to distort reality from the statements made and try to raise a wave of criticism and discontent, as is happening now against India.
Important Arabic sentence. Why Saudi Arabia began to search for peace for Ukraine
2023-08-18 05:28:24
#listen #Putin #G20 #summit #place #Ukraine #affect #war
