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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken leaves following a meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (not pictured), at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, February 21, 2024. Andre Borges, EPA-EFE.

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Agence France-Presse

<div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/12043832.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="US Secretary of State Antony Blinken leaves following a meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (not pictured), at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, February 21, 2024. Andre Borges, EPA-EFE."/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">US Secretary of State Antony Blinken leaves following a meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (not pictured), at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, February 21, 2024. <em><strong>Andre Borges, EPA-EFE.</strong></em></span></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Foreign ministers of the G20 group of nations open a two-day meeting Wednesday in Brazil, with a bleak outlook for progress on a thorny agenda of conflicts and crises, from the Gaza and Ukraine wars to growing polarization.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov both headed to Rio de Janeiro for the first high-level G20 meeting of the year.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">China&#x27;s top diplomat Wang Yi has opted not to attend, sending Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ma Zhaoxu instead.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">In a world torn by conflicts and divisions, Brazil, which took over the rotating G20 presidency from India in December, has voiced hopes for what President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva calls the &quot;forum with the greatest capacity to positively influence the international agenda.&quot;</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">But Lula&#x27;s bid to make the G20 a space for finding common ground likely took a hit Sunday when the veteran leftist ignited a diplomatic firestorm by accusing Israel of &quot;genocide,&quot; comparing its military campaign in the Gaza Strip to the Holocaust.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/2/21/hunger-grips-war-torn-gaza-as-truce-talks-resume-in-cairo-2226"></a><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/2/21/hunger-grips-war-torn-gaza-as-truce-talks-resume-in-cairo-2226">READ: Hunger grips war-torn Gaza as truce talks resume in Cairo</a></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The comments drew outrage in Israel, which declared him &quot;</span><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/2/20/brazil-israel-row-escalates-as-lula-declared-persona-non-grata-1113"></a><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/2/20/brazil-israel-row-escalates-as-lula-declared-persona-non-grata-1113">persona non grata</a></span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">,&quot; and could overshadow any bid to de-escalate the conflict via the G20.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;If Lula imagined he was going to propose peace resolutions on Israel or Ukraine, that just got swept off the table,&quot; international relations specialist Igor Lucena told AFP.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">More than four months after the Gaza war started with Hamas fighters&#x27; unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel, which vows to wipe out the Islamist group in retaliation, there is little sign of progress toward peace.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">A new UN Security Council resolution on a ceasefire was vetoed Tuesday by the United States.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The outlook is similarly grim on Russia&#x27;s war in Ukraine, which also has G20 members divided.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Despite a push by Western countries to condemn President Vladimir Putin&#x27;s invasion, the G20&#x27;s last summit ended with a watered-down statement denouncing the use of force but not explicitly naming Russia, which maintains friendly ties with India and Brazil, among other members.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Britain announced Wednesday it was imposing sanctions on six Russian officials over opposition leader Alexei Navalny&#x27;s death in prison last week, and Foreign Secretary David Cameron said he planned to use the Rio meeting to &quot;call out Russia&#x27;s aggression&quot; directly to Lavrov.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;No one should doubt the oppressive nature of the Russian system,&quot; Cameron said in a statement.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Underlining the G20 stalemate, the G7 group of top economies -- Ukrainian allies Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States -- will hold its own virtual meeting on the war Saturday, the second anniversary of Russia&#x27;s invasion.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/2/20/who-says-shocked-by-what-they-found-at-gaza-s-nasser-hospital-943" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/2/20/who-says-shocked-by-what-they-found-at-gaza-s-nasser-hospital-943" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">READ: WHO says shocked by what they found at Gaza&#x27;s Nasser hospital</a></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><strong>- &#x27;Putting out fires&#x27; -</strong></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Wl-MOj5Z1Es?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The G20 meeting will open with a session on &quot;addressing international tensions.&quot;</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The ministers will discuss global governance reform Thursday -- a favorite issue for Brazil, which wants a greater voice for the global south at institutions such as the UN, IMF and World Bank.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;The number and gravity of conflicts has returned to the level of the Cold War,&quot; said Brazil&#x27;s top diplomat for G20 political negotiations, Mauricio Lyrio.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">&quot;We need to adapt the international system to prevent new conflicts,&quot; he told journalists Tuesday. &quot;Now, we&#x27;re just putting out fires.&quot;</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Brazil also wants to use its G20 presidency to push the fights against poverty and climate change.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">There will also be space for bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the gathering -- though a Blinken-Lavrov encounter looks unlikely, given soaring tensions.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The pair last met in person at a G20 gathering in India in March 2023.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Blinken held what he called a &quot;very good meeting&quot; with Lula Wednesday morning in Brasilia before flying to Rio.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/2/18/gazans-worried-about-nearing-israeli-ground-assault-on-rafah-056"></a><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/2/18/gazans-worried-about-nearing-israeli-ground-assault-on-rafah-056">READ: Gazans worried about nearing Israeli ground assault on Rafah</a></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><strong>- Election-year havoc -</strong></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HRBC629xELE?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Founded in 1999, the Group of 20 brings together most of the world&#x27;s biggest economies.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Originally an economic forum, it has grown increasingly involved in international politics.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">But the prospects for major advances via the group are dim in a year when elections will be held in some 50 countries, including key G20 members such as the United States and Russia, said Lucena.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">A Brazilian government source said that after recent G20 struggles for consensus, the hosts axed the requirement that every meeting produce a joint statement -- with the exception of the annual leaders&#x27; summit, scheduled for November in Rio.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:10pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></span></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div>

<p>US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov both headed to Rio de Janeiro for the first high-level G20 meeting of the year.</p>

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov both headed to Rio de Janeiro for the first high-level G20 meeting of the year.

Gaza, Ukraine loom large as G20 foreign ministers meet

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Gaza, Ukraine loom large as G20 foreign ministers meet

Agence France-Presse,

Joshua Howat Berger

Published Feb 22, 2024 02:40 AM PHT

Read More:

Gaza

Ukraine

G20

Antony Blinken

Sergei Lavrov

Russia

United States

Brazil

Rio de Janeiro

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

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