Status: 11/12/2022 3:32 a.m
Russia is everything, just not isolated: This is the message the Kremlin wants to spread at the G20 summit in Bali. In return, Putin flatters host Widodo as a “brother” and speaks of the “symphony” of the multipolar world.
“We are at a historical turning point. We are approaching what is probably the most dangerous, unpredictable and at the same time most important decade since the end of the Second World War,” Russian President Vladimir Putin prophesied to foreign policy experts from all over the world at the end of October. The West will “no longer be able to govern humanity on its own”; there are tectonic shifts in the concert of the greats:
New centers of power are emerging: in Asia. In Africa. It’s still a poor continent – but it has enormous potential. Also Latin America. You will evolve.
And so, the Russian President emphasized, as they themselves, and not as Western countries saw fit.
Exit plans from the dollar?
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stands like no other for such an independent policy, which is primarily based on national interests – Putin recognizes this with praise: Modi is “moving calmly like an icebreaker in the direction that is right for the Indian Country”. Countries like India played a big, growing role in the world.
Not to mention China, whose leader Xi Jinping calls Putin “his friend.” Both countries are already working very well, which the Russian President believes should set a precedent: trade based on national currencies. Beyond the dollar, which has too often been used as a means of pressure: It is not easy to get out of the dollar – but “more and more” countries are thinking about it.
Widodo calls Putin ‘brother’
The Kremlin is already dreaming of a new global financial system. From large sales markets beyond Europe. A shift in political weight towards Eurasia. A strengthening of organizations that have so far been marginalized internationally, in which countries such as Brazil, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Turkey play a role. And of course the host of the G20 summit: Indonesia.
“When President Widodo calls me, he calls me ‘brother’, I say the same to him. We value the relations we have built with Indonesia,” Putin told the Indonesian representative, who appeared delighted.
Disharmonies with the West priced in
He also spoke out against the formation of new blocs in Asia: This was “a harmful undertaking” to transfer the system of bloc thinking from the Atlantic region to Asia, which he believed had failed. But nothing should be forced on anyone. Everyone should have the same rights, Putin demanded. He only counts those countries that he believes have a right to independence – neither Ukraine nor Taiwan.
On this basis, says Putin, one can “work out the symphony of human civilizations.” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov should set the appropriate tone in Bali. In unison with the partners. Disharmonies with representatives of the West are firmly priced in, despite Putin’s demonstrative absence.