Biden Struggles to Gain Support from ‘Global South’

A big question as the annual U.N. General Assembly concludes is whether the Biden administration managed to garner fresh support from the so-called “Global South” to align behind U.S. priorities on the world stage, particularly when it comes to backing Ukraine against Russia.

Administration officials claim they scored key wins at the whirlwind gathering in rallying support from developing nations on the fence over whether to side decisively with Washington and its allies against a rival bloc including Russia, China and other autocratic powers.

But outside observers say countries like Brazil, South Africa, Vietnam, India and others, who have refused to publicly condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and have flouted U.S. economic sanctions targeting the Kremlin, showed little sign of changing their tune last week.

What’s worse, China pulled off something of a public relations coup in New York by declaring that it too an essential member of the Global South — the vaguely defined catch-phrase of U.N.-speak that describes dozens of non-aligned, militarily and economically weaker nations around the world not committed to one superpower or the other.

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, speaking for absent Chinese President Xi Jinping, told the General Assembly that Beijing identifies with those less-developed nations, offering them an alternative to what China’s ruling Communist Party has long-framed as U.S-led “unipolar Western hegemony” over the world.

“As the largest developing country, China is a natural member of the Global South,” argued Mr. Han.

“[China] breathes the same breath with other developing countries and shares the same future with them,” he said, while notably calling for an immediate cease-fire and talks to end the Ukraine war, regardless of Russia’s ongoing occupation.

The Chinese rhetoric contrasted sharply with President Biden’s attempts to rally nations to confront Russia more forcefully.

While Mr. Biden touted U.S. efforts to increase lending by wealthy nations to developing countries, he made no direct mention of the Global South during his own address to the General Assembly last Tuesday.

Nor did he call for a cease-fire or dialogue to end the Ukraine war. Instead, the president asserted that “Russia alone bears responsibility for this war, Russia alone has the power to end this war immediately, and it is Russia alone that stands in the way of peace, because Russia’s price for peace is Ukraine’s capitulation, Ukraine’s territory and Ukraine’s children.”

“If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure?” Mr. Biden asked. “I’d respectfully suggest the answer is no. We have to stand up to this naked aggression today and deter other would-be aggressors tomorrow.”

Mr. Biden in his speech ended up devoting more than half of the address to such Global South issues as climate change, debt levels, health and the need to support multilateral institutions. But the Ukraine-Russia passages dominated the headlines after the speech.

Courting the fence-sitters

But statements by developing world leaders dovetailed partially at best with those emanating from the Biden administration last week.

None — not the leaders of Brazil, Egypt, Vietnam, South Africa or others — echoed Mr. Biden’s sharp condemnations of Russia.

The words Ukraine and Russia weren’t even uttered when Mr. Biden and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva held a chummy meeting touting unity on promoting workers’ rights. And when Mr. Lula addressed the General Assembly, he called for negotiations to end the Ukraine war, promoting himself as a neutral mediator.

The neutrality message was heard again and again, with nearly every Global South leader emphasizing the need to find an immediate road map toward ending the war, without taking one side over the other.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told the world body that “the serious consequences of the conflict in Ukraine have proved we cannot guarantee the security and stability of any party exclusively of another.”

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said his country values “the importance of engaging all parties,” asserting that “we must do everything within our means to enable meaningful dialogue…[and] refrain from any actions that fuel the conflict.”

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh made no mention of Ukraine in his speech, less than two weeks after Mr. Biden made a rare visit to Hanoi to boost bilateral ties. The New York Times reported that, as Mr. Biden headed to Vietnam in early September, internal Vietnamese documents show how the country is attempting to modernize its military by secretly paying for defense purchases through a joint oil venture with Russia.

Mr. Shidore said it is unrealistic to think the U.S. could ever achieve 100% alignment from the Global South, but “the needle could have been moved at the General Assembly if President Biden had clearly demonstrated a goal of ending the Ukraine war.”

“Biden was within his rights and correct to condemn Russia for its illegal invasion and to highlight the suffering of the Ukrainian people. But what he should have said also is that the U.S. understands the pain this war is creating for the Global South…and that we want a way to end it as soon as possible, and we support a diplomatic approach to complement — not replace — the military support being provided for Ukraine.”

Openly calling for an end to the war could give the administration an opening to convince major nonaligned countries — and perhaps even China — to make their impact felt through private diplomacy with Russia — specifically by placing behind-the-scenes pressure on President Vladimir Putin to make concessions.

“This could be possible because many of the most influential Global South nations are buying Russian oil and they do have relationships with Russia,” said Mr. Shidore. “But I think for them to get off the fence and work more closely with the U.S., they need to see some movement from the Biden administration, movement like making ‘end to war’ a major goal…and right now, you just don’t see that.”

• This article is based in part on wire service reports.

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