Russia’s Lavrov Tries To Woo the World as Blinken Seemingly Blanks Out

On the heels of an alliance-forging mission to Cairo, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, will be seen this week in at least three additional African countries, while Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be arguably much less visible. Mr. Lavrov’s charm offensive, attempting to woo the world to Moscow’s side even as it presses on with its conquest of Ukraine, is at once predictable and remarkable, the latter because it stands in marked contrast to the largely absentee approach to conflict resolution taken by Mr. Blinken and President Biden.As Russia plays its long game with all the chutzpah and cunning one expects from the Kremlin, it increasingly looks like Foggy Bottom’s top dog is content to sit this one out. How else to explain Mr. Blinken’s borderline blithe tweet about “the ongoing peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia” on the day after Mr. Lavrov and President el-Sisi cheered on the start of a $25 billion joint venture that will give Egypt its first nuclear power plant? Or today’s touting of new supply chain agreement with Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic? While Russia is making aggressive inroads — for now only commercial, as far as we know — into one of America’s most vital Middle East allies, Mr. Blinken focuses on Armenia. And Costa Rica.That is not to underestimate the importance of peace in the Caucasus nor to diminish all of Mr. Blinken’s work, but there is a glaring disconnect from geopolitical reality that is undermining the West’s united posture vis-à-vis Russia, and it is shaping up to be a gross disservice to the American public. As the war in Europe has inflation marching upward and generally pressuring the global economy, it will become increasingly clear that off-topic platitudes about the goodness of peace in various global precincts are no substitute for the hard work of real diplomacy. Military support for Ukraine is also no substitute for a robust and creative diplomatic campaign. Team Blinken should be alarmed to read in the Times of London that Messrs. Putin and el-Sisi “regularly speak by phone.” If Mr. Blinken’s boss is too busy or too tired to ring the Egyptian leader and ask him what all those chats are about, then Mr. Blinken ought to pick up the phone and do so himself. He should also ask the Egyptian to take a side in the war, because to date he has not.It stands to reason that one of the things Moscow and Cairo hashed out was the anticipated resumption of grain shipments from Russia and Ukraine, upon which the desert country is heavily dependent. That’s fine, but it took some cold nerve for Mr. Lavrov to tell the Arab League that the new grain deal with Ukraine would push “western countries to lift limitations and stop preventing Russian grain from being delivered to buyers.” How much cheek does Moscow’s foreign minister have to show before there is a response in kind — or any response at all — from his American counterpart? This kind of radio silence as the Kremlin makes inroads on what should be comfortably American diplomatic territory could be almost comic if it wasn’t almost terrifying. Consider Turkey, which almost religiously refuses to sanction Russia and is taking too much credit for helping to broker a deal that will supposedly help get grain and fertilizer shipped on its way unhindered. NATO member or not, Turkey has tried to play both sides in the Russia-Ukraine war, but it would be naive to believe that Ankara has not already cast its lot with Moscow. Turkey’s president, whose rancorous stance on the global stage dovetails neatly with Mr. Lavrov’s well-calibrated anti-American remonstrances, just told a Turkish broadcaster, TRT, that “what attitude you show towards [Vladimir Putin] is what you will get.” Earlier, President Erdogan deemed unacceptable “the fascist attitude towards Russians and Russian culture in Western countries.”That is, to a degree, fine as well. Nobody in their right mind favors cancel culture, but the coziness of putative strategic partners like Turkey with Mr. Putin spells trouble. Deepening commercial ties between Ankara and Moscow are detrimental to Western energy security, at least in its current state, and are by no means guaranteed to help with global food security. There are already hints that should Turkey follow through on its bellicose rhetoric directed at Greece and Cyprus, Russia will have its back. Yes, Washington would likely swiftly intervene to tamp down any hot incident in the Mediterranean, but should it really get that far?Following his initial whistle-stop at Cairo, Mr. Lavrov will be visiting Ethiopia, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Would it not be a statement if Mr. Blinken had the prescience to dispatch some of our own to Africa and show Mr. Lavrov some resolve and elbow? If Mr. Blinken cannot see the warning signs blinking on the global dashboard, and get off Twitter and start speaking and acting accordingly, then it is time for Mr. Biden to find his replacement.

Russia’s Lavrov Tries To Woo the World as Blinken Seemingly Blanks Out

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