(Special envoy to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) Lula da Silva negotiates against the clock with the G7 -United States, Germany, Canada, France, Italy, United Kingdom and Japan- to find an exit to the crisis caused by his proposed final statement what was very soft on Russia y critical in extremis with Israel.
During the early hours of this Monday, a few hours before the formal start of the G20 Summit, the president of Brazil sent a consensus initiative to the G7 Sherpas that roza a Vladimir Putin, proposes a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, and takes a position more equidistant from Israel.
The G7 Sherpas agreed to respond to the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, that showed urgency to resolve an underlying crisis that was caused by its own international agenda. The response to Lula – they assured Infobae G7 spokespersons will arrive at noon from Rio de Janeiro.
The G20 It is made up of countries that respondents to power blocks, different ideologies and geopolitical ambitions distinctbut the unity of the multilateral forum was always privileged on of the current global crises.
This basic rule of diplomatic coexistence is faced an unprecedented test at the G20 in Brazil: the latest attack of Russia to Ukraine y Lula da Silva’s pro-Palestinian position has put the Summit of Presidents and Heads of State near the abyss.
At the G20 summits, the organizing country has more power than its own nature as a state. and Brazil take advantage of this factual rule to push a draft final statement that It benefits Russia, Turkey, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Iran, and affects Ukraine, the United States, Israel, the European G7 countries and Argentina.
There is no G20 without in-depth debates and strong differencesbut at the end of the summit always approved a final statement that bet to the unity of the multilateral forum.
The exception happened with Donald Trump that in the G20 of Hamburg y Osaka He forced a statement of 19 plus 1, due to his rejection of climate change.
But it was an extraordinary case that had no major consequences.
Russia is a member of the G20, and Vladimir Putin could not arrive in Rio de Janeiro because he has an international arrest warrant for crimes against humanity. In the last 48 hours, Moscow launched an offensive against Ukraine that decimated its energy capacity a few months before the start of the harsh European winter.
In this context, Lula presented to the members of the G7 that make up the G20 a draft final communiqué that dodges Putin’s deadly offensive on Ukraine. Brazil is part of the BRICS, and Russia is a prominent partner of that geopolitical bloc that aims to displace the global influence of the United States.
On Sunday afternoon, when it became known that the White House supposedly authorized Volodimir Zelensky use own missiles to attack targets in Russia, The representatives of the G7 – the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada and Italy – informed the Brazilian Foreign Ministry that They did not accept the draft linked to Russia that Lula had presented to them.
It was an unprecedented response in the historical trajectory of the G20. When there were differences, they were considered cautiously behind the scenes, and now the decision was made to raise substantive objections. without any diplomatic makeup.
That is to say: if Lula and his global partners – Russia, China, Iran and South Africa – do not back down, the G20 is in danger of splitting in two.
The institutional crisis of the G20 It not only has its origin in the contemplative attitude that Lula proposed to address Russia’s constant attack on Ukraine.
Brazil’s defense of Palestine -which is in the hands of the terrorist group Hamas- and the simultaneous condemnation of Israel also functioned as a basic cause to destabilize the G20 convened in Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil is an ally of Iran, Türkiye and Indonesia -countries that aspire to the disappearance of the Jewish state-, and their draft proposal on the crisis in the Middle East responds to the interests of its global partners.
In this context, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and, mainly Argentina, They opposed the text submitted by the Brazilian Foreign Ministry to address the war that Israel is waging against the terrorist organization Hamas.
If Lula does not accept the substantive changes proposed to the G20 negotiators, Brazil will not be able to close its multilateral summit with a single final statement.
Differences over the war in Ukraine would add the proposals of the G7 plus Argentina regarding Israel and its confrontation with the terrorist groups that Iran finances.
The G20 begins this Monday with the traditional greeting from the host -in this case, Lula- to the presidents and heads of state who will participate in the multilateral summit convened in Rio de Janeiro. It will only be a gesture for the gallery, in a scenario of diplomatic crisis that It doesn’t have the ending written.
The differences are so profound that Nobody rules out an unprecedented outcome.
It’s up to the G7 to move, led by the United States, that in two months there will be a new president in the White House.
