The G20 foreign summit in Bali saw yet another wall after wall between the West and Russia: the G7 renewed their condemnation of Moscow for invading Ukraine, and Minister Sergei Lavrov reacted bluntly, calling off the summit before it was completed. In this dead end, the Vatican is also trying to contribute to a diplomatic solution to the conflict: Pope Francis could travel to Kyiv in August. In Bali, the Indonesian government, as host country, opened the G20’s work in the name of neutrality. Highlighting the serious consequences of the conflict worldwide, including on the food and energy fronts. “It is our responsibility to end the war sooner or later and settle our differences at the negotiating table, not on the battlefield,” Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told colleagues including Russian and US diplomatic chiefs Lavrov and Antony Blinken. Faced for the first time since the conflict began. At the end of the confrontation, Blinken indicated that the attempt to widen the front against Moscow had been successful: “Today we heard a strong chorus from around the world, not just from the United States, of the need to put an end to this to prepare aggression in Ukraine”. No country, even among the BRICS members, the main allies of Moscow’s developing countries, “has defended the Russian stance,” reiterated French Minister Catherine Colonna, while Luigi Di Maio emphasized that “Russia is our destroyed trust”.
ANSA agency
Italian Foreign Minister at G20 Summit in Bali: “The attack must stop now and Russian forces must retreat” (ANSA)
The Indonesian minister’s version is different, according to which there is no unanimous condemnation, but “only a few members” express it clearly. So much so that no definitive document was produced at the end of the work. According to the Russians, enough to confirm that the “G7’s attempt to isolate us has failed,” commented Lavrov’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. As the day progressed, the rift between Russia and the West certainly became more apparent. When it came time for the closed-door sessions, Lavrov left the table while German Annalena Baerbock criticized the invasion of Ukraine. The chair was also empty when Blinken and the Ukrainian Dmytro Kuleba spoke. In an escalation of impatience that culminated in the premature termination of the summit. Because “there is nothing to discuss with those who want Ukraine to defeat us on the battlefield” was the motivation. Lavrov’s only sign of openness was his willingness to talk with Ankara and Kyiv to finally open the corridors for Ukrainian wheat. The Russian minister discussed this with his Turkish colleague Mevlut Cavusoglu in Bali. But in Ukraine, skepticism still prevails. According to Kuleba, Moscow is “playing the hunger games with the world, holding the naval blockade of Ukrainian ports with one hand and blaming us with the other.” Meanwhile, the conflict shows no signs of slowing down, especially in Donbass, and a new Vatican initiative is registered in the diplomatic standoff. “The Pope said he will go to Ukraine and has always shown himself willing to visit Moscow and also to meet the Russian authorities,” saying he was “very confident that his visit could also have positive results,” the Vatican said -Secretary for Relations with States, Mons. Paul Richard Gallagher. Without ruling out that this peacekeeping mission could take place in August.
ANSA agency
This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov. Kyiv: “Russian troops are advancing towards Bakhmut in Donetsk” (ANSA)
The US will send another 400 million weapons to Ukraine. This was reported by a Washington Post defense official. In the new package, in addition to the other eight already sent, there are also four Himars rocket systems (High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems). The United States will also send 1,000 155mm artillery shells, which have increased accuracy and help Ukraine hit specific targets. The pack will also include three tactical vehicles, radar systems, spare parts and other military equipment.
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