Bharat assumes the presidency of the G-20 in challenging times where the group of 19 and the European Union have been at loggerheads with each other. The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has escalated tensions with a clear divide imminent amongst nations.
G-20 at present is like a cart which is being pulled in all directions by horses (countries) for their own interests and requirements and it won’t be late before the cart is ripped apart given the inflection points between nations.
The open spat between the Chinese president Xi Jinping and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the leaving of the Russian foreign minister midway, the Saudi’s snubbing the Americans by refusing to raise production and the Brits begging the Saudi’s to reconsider their decision are just a few of the confrontations that were witnessed in Bali, Indonesia.
An unrelenting Russia and a defiant Ukraine -though not part of the G-20 – Zelensky left no stone unturned in instigating the West and provoking it to have a direct conflict with Russia in his televised address to the group of 20.
The winter blues have already hit Europe not withstanding their tall claims to the contrary and the breach in Nord stream – 2 which has been attributed to sabotage has not helped the west.
PM Modi is not going to Russia for his annual summit with Putin and his telephonic call to Putin to look for some diplomatic solution to end the war won’t cut much ice with the former KGB agent.
Bharat has to contend with a belligerent China as the recent Tawang clash has shown and the symbolic handshake of Modi with Xi at the G-20 just before Tawang happened reminds one of a similar tete-a-tete near the banks of Sabarmati between the two leaders and the Chinese unabashed intrusion into our territory even as the two leaders were just finishing their tea in a picture perfect setting.
That much for the bonhomie & the rendezvous between the two and the resulting bloody aftermath. As his is won’t Xi Jinping fresh from his triumphs at the recently concluded party Congress will increasingly take on a more belligerent stance against Bharat and Taiwan if only to deflect attention from the covid crisis at home.
The east west divide particularly between the OPEC+ of which Russia is a part & the US and its allies has turned into a fissure with Saudi Arabia refusing to increase production inspite of the US going out of its way to woo MDS even after the Khashoggi killing which many believe was ordered by the former.
OPEC+ founded in 2016 controls 50% of the world’s crude oil supply and 90% of the world’s reserves. The reduced production by Saudi’s is obviously an attempt by OPEC to help Russia wade off its economic crisis in the wake of an embargo by the west on its supply.
The resulting increase in international oil prices has kept the cash registers ringing for Russia and OPEC much to the chagrin of the US and its allies who are fighting inflation at home.
There is little hope of any conciliatory posture between the G-20 under the current geopolitical scenario and the ongoing war which is having a cascading effect on the relations between the 19 countries and the European Union. It remains to be seen what Bharat and PM Modi bring to the table in these challenging times.
