When he spoke before the State Duma Feb. 14, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reported that Russia’s government is committed to participating in the G20 inter-governmental forum to counter efforts to “Ukrainize” it. He was referring to efforts by the U.S. and its “partners” during recent G20 meetings to hijack the agenda to focus on Ukraine rather than on issues of importance to the Global South. Particularly at last year’s meeting in India and the 2022 one in Bali, Indonesia, opposition from developing sector nations prevented the U.S. and its Western allies from sabotaging the agenda.
As reported by TASS, in preparation for the Feb. 21 meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Rio de Janeiro, which he will attend, Lavrov warned that “Together with the Global South, we continue countering attempts by the Western minority to turn the G20 into an instrument to pursue its own narrow objectives, including the Ukrainization of its agenda.” Prior to arriving in Brazil, Lavrov will hold a one-day meeting in Cuba with President Miguel Díaz-Canel and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez on Feb. 19, followed by Feb. 20 meetings in Caracas with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez among others.
U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken will also attend the Rio foreign ministers’ meeting and meet separately with President Lula da Silva. According to the State Department, Blinken plans to express support for Brazil’s G20 presidency, its hosting the foreign ministers’ meeting and focusing on such matters as the clean energy transition and commemorating 200 years of diplomatic relations. It’s not likely these can match the profound discussions Lula had during his just-concluded state visit to Egypt and his participation in the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The State Department press release that at the foreign ministers’ meeting, Blinken plans to “engage world leaders on our shared initiatives for increasing peace and stability”—although where the U.S. is promoting peace and stability may be hard to identify. His other priorities include “promoting social inclusion, reducing inequality and hunger, and improving global governance.” In Argentina, Blinken will discuss “bilateral and global issues … our shared commitment to human rights and democratic governance, critical minerals,” etc. After meeting with Blinken, President Javier Milei will immediately travel to Washington, where he will be a special guest at the annual meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Feb. 24. He is expected to meet with Donald Trump as well as with other right-wing ghouls attending this confab.
