President Joe Biden, 80, and his 60-year-old Secretary of State Antony Blinken and 45-year-old National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan ran out of political capital at the G20 New Delhi summit, unable to get G20 countries to condemn Russia. Biden hoped he’d rally the world against the Russian Federation for its Feb. 24, 2022 Ukraine invasion but instead found out the hard way that Russia has its own relationships with countries around the planet. As much as condemnations flows freely from Washington and Kiev, the rest of the world takes a more sanguine approach, believing there’s still hope for a ceasefire and peace talks. Gone are the days when Biden summoned the outrage of the West to take a strong stand against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Today, the world wants the war to end, regardless of who started the conflict or who’s at fault. White House officials see how things have changed.
Ukraine reacted to the G20’s lack of condemnation for Putin, embarrassed that it’s propaganda campaign against Russia looks like its fizzling out. Ukraine’s 45-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky thought he would enjoy unanimous disapproval for Russia’s invasion but finds himself explaining why he refuse to enter ceasefire and peace talks. “We are grateful to the partners who tried to include strong wording in the text,” said Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Oleh Nikolenko. “However, in terms of Russia aggression against Ukraine [the] G20 has nothing to be proud of,” Nokolenko wrote on “X,” formerly known as Twitter. Kiev officials can’t see through their anger over continued Russian aggression, only recently killing at least 17 at an open-air market in Kostyantynivka. Certainly Kiev knows that as long as there’s no peace talks the carnage and destruction continues.
G20 leaders want to send a loud message to Washington and Kiev that the time is long overdue for a ceasefire and peace talks. Biden and Zelensky have tied their credibility and future together continuing to battle the Krmlin. Other G20 countries, like China and India, want the war to end but aren’t willing to condemn Putin and the Russian Federation. Biden doesn’t like hearing Chinese President Xi Jinping saying that Washington pushed Russia to invade by encroaching on its sovereignty. G20 acknowledged the “human suffering and negative added impacts of the war in Ukraine,” but made no mention of the Russian invasion. Kiev wants the G20 to demand the Russia get out of Ukraine, pay reparations and prosecute Putin for war crimes, attesting to the fact that they do not seek ceasefire or peace talks. Zelensky and Biden still think that they can break the Russian military.
G20 officials created a text that could be signed off by Russia officials, keeping the door open to more communication. “All States must refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition against the territorial and sovereignty or political independence of any state. The use of threat or use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible,” said the G20 statement. Zelensky isn’t happy about the G20 joint communiqué because it shows dwindling support for Biden’s proxy war with its stated aim of degrading the Russian military. EU countries while condemning the Russian invasion want no part of any escalations, certainly not fighting WW III on the European Continent. Biden and his national security team found out there’s dwindling interest in escalating the Ukraine War, despite new military commitments.
Unable to get the G20 condemnation wanted, Washington and Kiev find themselves isolated with certain world powers, not part of the Western Alliance. China and India have made clear they want the war to end but won’t change their business ties to Moscow. Biden hoped he could keep a global coalition together but instead only managed to keep the Western Alliance together. Biden continues to alienate China trying to put together a NATO-like group of Indo-Pacific countries to counter Chinese aggression the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait. White House officials continue to undermine China, pushing Beijing to join a military, economic and strategic alliance with the Russian Federation. So when Biden tries to get world leaders to join his anti-Russian coalition, it backfires. Washington and Kiev could not be more disappointed by the G20 communique.
Biden and Zelensky are now out on a limb, with the G20 no longer jumping on the anti-Russian bandwagon. EU countries want to see Biden and Zelensky come around to a political settlement. Sending cluster bombs and depleted uranium weapons to Ukraine recently, Biden went in the opposite direction sought by world powers. G20 sends a loud message to Biden that he should move the conflict from the battlefield to peace table. Biden miscalculated that the world would support his war against the Kremlin. But now that war has been brought to the European Continent, the world wants the war to end, regardless of what it takes. Biden and Zelensky can’t sell the world on continuing the war for whatever outcome. World leaders don’t want to hear Biden or Zelensky’s condemnation of Russia. All world leaders want a ceasefire and peace talks to end the conflict.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
