New Delhi: European Council President Charles Michel lashed out at Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during his address at the opening session of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Delhi Saturday and accused Russia of offering grain to African countries in “a parody of generosity”.
Lavrov is representing Russian President Vladimir Putin after the latter announced he would be skipping the summit.
Speaking at the 18th G20 Leaders’ Summit, Michel praised efforts by UN Secretary General António Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to broker the ‘Black Sea Grain’ deal but criticised Russia for pulling out of it in July.
“And what cynicism, Mr Russian Representative, you did not accept this because not only have you decided to pull out of this agreement on the Black Sea, but at the same time you are attacking the port infrastructures. You are blocking the ports that give access to the Black Sea, and even to the Danube,” he said.
Russia backed out of the agreement a year after it was brokered. The pact was supposed to allow Ukraine to safely export grain, oil, and fertiliser through its ports along the Black Sea.
Earlier this week, however, Erdoğan reportedly held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Delhi over the possibility of reviving the grain deal.
In his address, Michel also accused Moscow of indigenously offering 1 million tonnes of grain to African countries.
“What cynicism and contempt for African countries…1 million tonnes offered — as if it were a gift. This is absolutely appalling cynicism,” said Michel.
Michel’s remarks come on the heels of PM Modi’s inaugural address at the G20 Summit earlier in the day during which it was declared that the African Union (AU) had been granted permanent membership in the G20. Thereafter, Azali Assoumani, President of the Union of Comoros and AU chairperson, took the seat as a full member of the G20.
On 6 September, Russia said that Turkey had agreed in principle to hand over 1 million metric tonnes of grain that Russia plans to send to Africa at a discounted price.
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EU Commission president focuses on Africa, climate change
In comparison to her counterpart at the European Council, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took a less assertive approach in her remarks, and avoided addressing Lavrov directly.
Having recently attended the Africa Climate Summit in Kenya, she focussed on the AU’s membership into G20, climate financing and global food security.
“The G20 countries alone account for 80% of the GHG (Greenhouse gas) emissions. Africa, on the other hand, has less than 4% of GHG emissions. But it is among the most affected by climate change,” she said in her remarks at the opening session of the G20 summit.
She spoke on the developed countries’ goal of jointly mobilising $100 billion in climate financing to help developing nations tackle the existential issue.
“Delivering on the 100 billion dollars climate finance target this year is a must…But more revenues will be needed. Which brings me to carbon pricing,” she said.
In 2009, developed countries promised that by 2020 they would transfer $100 billion per year to poorer countries in order to help them cope with the effects of climate change. However, they have repeatedly fallen short of the target, having provided $83.3 billion in 2020.
Von der Leyen briefly mentioned Russia towards the end of her remarks, accusing it of creating global food insecurity due to its invasion of Ukraine.
“Food security is also a victim of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine,” she said. “We call on Russia to allow the grain from Ukraine to reach global markets via the Black Sea.”
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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