The EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, pointed out that G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Bali, Indonesia, shows the different perspectives countries have on the situation in Ukraine and its consequences.

“In the March vote at the UN General Assembly, 140 countries condemned Russia’s aggression,” he said, commenting that on the contrary, on how to move forward, opinions were very different, Borrell said in a statement posted on the EU’s UN website on Sunday.

“The G7 and like-minded countries are united in condemning and sanctioning Russia and trying to hold it accountable. But other countries, and we can talk here about much of the ‘Global South’, often take a different perspective, ” he said.

“The hard truth is that the national interest often trumps a common commitment to a larger ideal,” he concluded.

“The global narrative battle is in full swing and, right now, we’re not winning it,” Borrell admits.

G20 Summit

The G20 foreign ministers’ meeting held in Bali on July 7-8 was attended by Russia’s top diplomat Sergey Lavrov. The Russian Foreign Minister held a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin launch special military operations in response to a request from the heads of the two Donbass republics. The United States, European Union, Britain and other countries have retaliated with sweeping sanctions against Russia and have increased their arms supplies to Ukraine.

penalty

Since then, many countries have activated various individual and sectoral sanctions that seek to inflict the greatest damage on the Russian economy.

Dozens of companies announced since late February the decision to suspend their business in and with Russia.

For the first time, sanctions include the partial disconnection of Russia from the SWIFT system, immobilization of its Central Bank’s international reserves and, in the case of countries such as the US, Canada, UK and Australia, embargoes on imports of Russian oil.

According to the Castellum.AI database, Russia is now the most sanctioned country, ahead of Iran, Syria and North Korea. Since mid-February, more than 5,300 new restrictive measures have been activated with respect to Russia, in addition to the more than 2,750 already in effect.