NEW DELHI: Top US diplomat Antony Blinken was due in New Delhi on Wednesday alongside Russia’s Sergei Lavrov for a G20 meeting, with Ukraine and tensions with China set to overshadow attempts by host India to forge unity among the world’s top economies.
A meeting was seen as unlikely between the two men, who have not been in the same room since a G20 meeting in Bali in July when, according to Western officials, the Russian foreign minister walked out.
They last met individually in January 2022, weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine. The two men have spoken by phone since but about other issues and not the war.
Lavrov arrived late Tuesday in India — which has not condemned the war — and will use his G20 attendance to lay into the West, according to the Russian foreign ministry.
Western countries want to “take revenge for the inevitable disappearance of the levers of dominance from its hands,” the ministry’s English-language statement said.
“The destructive policy of the US and its allies has already put the world on the brink of a disaster, provoked a rollback in socio-economic development and seriously aggravated the situation of the poorest countries,” it added.
Similarly in doubt on the sidelines of the two-day G20 gathering in New Delhi was a meeting between Blinken and his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang.
Blinken had a fiery encounter with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi last month in Germany after the US shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon over its east coast on February 4.
The incident led Blinken to nix a rare trip to China, slamming the “unacceptable violation of US sovereignty and international law” which “must never again occur,” the State Department said.
Beijing, which has also been angered by Washington’s stance on Taiwan, denies it uses spy balloons and says the craft was for weather research.
Wang “urged the US side to change course, acknowledge and repair the damage that its excessive use of force caused to China-US relations,” state news agency Xinhua reported.
Blinken also warned Wang against providing “material support” to Russia’s faltering war effort, as is speculated in Washington. Beijing denies any such intention.
State news agency Xinhua quoted Wang last week as saying China was willing to “strengthen strategic coordination” with Russia after meeting Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Blinken was also expected to meet on Friday his counterparts from the Quad group — Japan, Australia and India — that is seen as a bulwark against China in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Group of Twenty comprises 19 countries and the European Union, representing around 85 percent of the world’s economy and two-thirds of its population.
India wants its G20 presidency this year to focus on issues like alleviating poverty and climate finance, but the Ukraine war and its effects are set to dominate the agenda.
Last week a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Bengaluru failed to agree on a common statement after Russia and China sought to water down language on the Ukraine war.
Hosting the G20 puts India in a tricky position, because while it shares Western concerns about China it is also a major buyer of Russian arms and has ramped up oil imports.
India has not condemned the invasion, although Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Putin last year that this was “not a time for war” in comments seen as a rebuke to Moscow.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Saturday on a visit to India that he did not believe that Modi’s government “is under any illusions that this is an offensive war started by Russia in order to acquire a part of its neighbor’s territory.”
Ukraine war set to divide as India hosts G20 foreign ministers
https://arab.news/wzktm
Ukraine war set to divide as India hosts G20 foreign ministers
- Top US diplomat Antony Blinken unlikely to meet with Russia’s Sergei Lavrov at G20 meeting
- But Blinken expected to meet his counterparts from the Quad group – Japan, Australia and India
Stars and royals gather for the BAFTA film awards, with ‘One Battle’ and ‘Sinners’ leading the race
- William is due to present an award in his role as president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts
- Among the biggest receptions from gathered fans was for Paddington, the puppet bear who stars in a musical stage adaption of the beloved children’s classic
LONDON: Hollywood stars and British celebrities, from Paddington Bear to the Princess of Wales, gathered Sunday for the British Academy Film Awards, where politically charged thriller “One Battle After Another” and blues-steeped epic “Sinners” led the field of nominees.
The two films snagged early prizes, with Wunmi Mosaku taking the supporting actress award for “Sinners,” and Sean Penn winning the supporting actor trophy for “One Battle After Another.”
Oddsmakers suggest Shakespearean family tragedy “Hamnet” could beat the front-runners to best picture if British film industry voters respond to the emotionally rich story, earthy English setting and intense performances in Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s historical novel.
Stars including Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, Cillian Murphy, Glenn Close and Ethan Hawke were among those walking the red carpet outside London’s Royal Festival Hall before a black-tie ceremony hosted by Scottish actor Alan Cumming.
Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales also attended, three days after William’s uncle Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested by police and held for 11 hours over allegations he sent sensitive government information to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The scandal has rocked the royal family led by King Charles III, though William and Kate remain popular standard-bearers for the monarchy. William is due to present an award in his role as president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
Among the biggest receptions from gathered fans was for Paddington, the puppet bear who stars in a musical stage adaption of the beloved children’s classic.
Oscars bellwether
“One Battle” has 14 nominations, including best picture and acting nods for five of its cast. “Sinners” is just behind with 13, while “Hamnet” and the ping-pong odyssey “Marty Supreme” each have 11 nominations.
Guillermo del Toro’s reimagining of “Frankenstein” and Norwegian family drama ” Sentimental Value” each got eight nominations.
The British prizes, officially called the EE BAFTA Film Awards, often provide hints about who will win at Hollywood’s Academy Awards, held this year on March 15. In the Oscar nominations, “Sinners” leads the race with a record 16 nominations, followed by “One Battle After Another” with 13.
Cumming told the audience that it had been a strong year for cinema, if not a cheerful one, with nominated films tackling themes including child death, racism and political violence:
“Watching the films this year was like taking part in a collective nervous breakdown,” he said. “It’s almost as though there are events going on in the real world that are influencing filmmakers.”
The BAFTA best film nominees are “One Battle After Another,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” “Sinners” and “Sentimental Value.” The BAFTAs also have a distinctly British accent, with a separate category for best British film. Its 10 nominees include “The Ballad of Wallis Island,” “Pillion,” “I Swear” and “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.”
Directing contenders are Paul Thomas Anderson for “One Battle,” Josh Safdie for “Marty Supreme,” Ryan Coogler for “Sinners,” Yorgos Lanthimos for dystopian tragicomedy “Bugonia,” Joachim Trier for “Sentimental Value” and Zhao for “Hamnet.” Zhao will be the first female director to win two BAFTAs if she takes the prize. She won the directing award in 2021 for “Nomadland.”
Best leading actor nominees are bookies’ favorite Chalamet for “Marty Supreme,” DiCaprio for “One Battle After Another,” Ethan Hawke for Broadway biopic “Blue Moon,” Michael B. Jordan for “Sinners,” Jesse Plemons for “Bugonia” and Robert Aramayo for playing an advocate for people with Tourette’s syndrome in biographical drama “I Swear.”
The leading actress category includes the strongly favored Jessie Buckley for her performance as Agnes Hathaway, wife of William Shakespeare, in “Hamnet.” She’s up against Rose Byrne for “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” Kate Hudson for “Song Sung Blue,” Chase Infiniti for “One Battle After Another,” Renate Reinsve for “Sentimental Value” and Emma Stone for “Bugonia.”
“One Battle” actors Teyana Taylor, Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn are all nominated for supporting performances.
AP gets documentary nod
The Associated Press was recognized in the best documentary category with a nomination for Mstyslav Chernov’s harrowing Ukraine war portrait “2000 Meters to Andriivka, ” co-produced by the AP and Frontline PBS.
Most BAFTA winners are chosen by 8,500 members of the UK academy of industry professionals. Contenders for the Rising Star award — the only prize decided by public vote and a reliable picker of future A-listers — are Infiniti, Aramayo, “Sinners” star Miles Caton and British actors Archie Madekwe and Posy Sterling.
Donna Langley, the UK-born chairwoman of NBCUniversal Entertainment, will be awarded the British Academy’s highest honor, the BAFTA fellowship.
The ceremony airs on BBC in the United Kingdom starting at 7 p.m. (1900 GMT) and on E! in the US at 8 p.m. EST.
