Global South Unwilling To Be Lectured On Ukraine: Lavrov

The West's efforts to "Ukrainise" the agenda of the G20 were prevented by consolidation of the grouping's members from the Global South, which is unwilling to be lectured to about the Ukraine crisis, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said on Sunday.

- Rezaul H Laskar

Addressing a news conference a day after the G20 Summit issued a leaders' declaration that did not specifically refer to Russia's aggression against Ukraine (although it did have a nuanced and detailed take on the war), Lavrov said the active role of the Indian presidency consolidated member states from the Global South - including Brazil, China and South Africa - to uphold and protect their legitimate interests.

The G20 members of the Global South prevented the efforts of the West to "Ukrainise" the agenda of the two-day summit, which was more about the awakening of developing countries that are "no longer willing" to be lectured to about Russia complying with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's peace formula, he said, speaking in Russian.

The leaders' declaration is not an ultimatum to Russia, Lavrov said, thanking Russia's "Indian friends" for laying a solid foundation for working towards the democratisation of international economic and financial relations. He acknowledged that Russia had not been expecting the West to accept the text finally used in the leaders' declaration to the Ukraine crisis. "When they agreed to that, perhaps it was the voice of their conscience...we didn't expect that. We were 100% ready to defend our honest wording of the text," he added.