China and Russia remain absent at G20 in Rome, President Joe Biden criticized
New Delhi: United States President Joe Biden in Italy – criticized the absence of key world leaders at the G20 summit in Rome while giving his closing remarks. President Biden said that “it is disappointing that Russian and Chinese leaders basically did not show up.”
Biden’s counterparts Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping were not present at the crucial diplomatic summit and are also not expected to attend the COP26 summit in Scotland’s Glasgow.
According to the media report, other world leaders who were not present in Rome for the meeting were from Mexico and Japan. However, low-level ministers were sent for the summit as diplomats.
The given reason for Xi and Putin’s absences at the G-20 — and a subsequent climate summit in Scotland that starts Monday — is the ongoing Covid pandemic. Cases are spiking in Russia, and Xi hasn’t left China in 21 months as the virus spread across the world.
Xi and Putin have become less concerned with global cooperation as their countries draw international condemnation for cyber-attacks, military aggression, and human rights abuses.
“The disappointment relates to the fact that Russia — not only Russia but China — basically didn’t show up in terms of any commitments to deal with climate change. And there’s a reason why people should be disappointed in that,” Biden said at a press conference as the Group of 20 summits concluded in Rome.
Putin and Xi are diplomatic recluses; both regularly speak with foreign counterparts, including a phone call between Biden and Xi last month and a closely watched summit with Putin and Biden in Switzerland in June.
Russia and China have also taken a lead role in communicating with the Taliban after its takeover of Afghanistan following the American withdrawal.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday said that “Even if Xi is absent from the diplomatic gatherings, his decisions will play an important role for the future of the globe. I think it’s ultimately going to be up to China, as now currently the world’s largest emitter, to decide whether it is going to do the right and important thing for its own people, but also for everyone around the world,”
Blinken further added that “Beijing is going to have to decide whether it’s going to live up to its responsibilities starting with its own people who are affected directly by climate change.”
In video remarks played at the G-20 on Saturday, both Xi and Putin raised concerns about the global vaccination effort, and each complained their countries’ shots weren’t being recognized by international bodies. They were expected to participate virtually in additional sessions later in the summit, but because they are not attending in person, won’t have the chance to follow up on their concerns with fellow leaders.
(_Vinayak Barot)
