Strongmen strut their stuff on G20 stage

Russian leader and Saudi crown prince set tone with jovial greeting.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — The strongmen are rampaging across the world stage with impunity, and they know it.

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Only moments after European Council President Donald Tusk used a news conference to urge G20 leaders to address Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and Saudi Arabia’s evident disregard for human rights, video footage of the leaders’ arrivals showed Russian President Vladimir Putin slapping hands in jovial fashion with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as they took their seats for the summit’s opening session.

It was a striking display of locker-room camaraderie between the two vilified tough guys — Putin, the former KGB agent who has been Russia’s supreme leader for just shy of two decades, and the young monarch who, according to Western and Turkish intelligence, ordered the killing and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

If Putin was feeling any concern about Tusk’s vow that Western economic sanctions against Russia would be extended yet again in January, he did not give the smallest hint of it. And if the crown prince was worried in the slightest about the international condemnation that he has faced in recent weeks, there was also no indication as he adjusted his gold-trimmed thawb and took his seat at the conference table.

Indeed, the only tough guy in Argentina who seems to be having the slightest trouble these days is U.S. President Donald Trump, who flew to Buenos Aires amid the latest blockbuster developments in special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian collusion with the Trump election campaign.

Still, Trump, while conceding nothing, signalled that the latest Mueller development remains very much on his mind.

The president glibly brushed aside the news with a dismissive tweet that declared, once again, his usual reply to Mueller’s investigation: “Witch hunt!”

In a twist, Trump, who has long admired powerful authoritarian leaders, finds himself shunning the very men that he has praised for exuding strength.

White House officials have been at pains to fill the president’s schedule to limit the possibility of a lengthy interaction with Putin or MBS. And aides were frustrated by reports — notably in state media in Saudi Arabia and Russia — that Trump is planning to hold an informal chat with Putin and that he met with MBS.

Trump on Thursday canceled his planned meeting with Putin, calling it a response to the military operations against Ukraine. In response, Putin’s spokesman noted that the Russian leader would have a couple of hours of extra time for “useful meetings” at the G20.

U.S. aides dismissed the Russian report of a Putin-Trump huddle being back on, arguing it is an effort by the Russians to save face after the cancelation. And they acknowledged that Trump “exchanged pleasantries” with MBS as he did with many other world leaders.

“We had no discussion. We had no discussion. We might. But we had none,” Trump said when asked about the report that he met with MBS.

Asked by a reporter whether he’s going to be exchanging pleasantries with Putin during the summit, Trump said, “I don’t know. Not particularly. I don’t know.”

Toothless West

For Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, the evident self-assuredness of the Russian and Saudi leaders highlights just how powerless the West has been in responding to what it views as grave transgressions of international norms.

“This is a difficult moment for international cooperation,” Tusk said at a joint news conference with Juncker. “I would like to appeal to the leaders to use this summit, including their bilateral and informal exchanges, to seriously discuss real issues such as trade wars, the tragic situation in Syria and Yemen and the Russian aggression in Ukraine. I see no reason why the G20 leaders shouldn’t have a meaningful discussion about solving these problems. Especially because all the instruments lie in their hands. The only condition is good will.”

Tusk, in an unsubtle jab at the Saudi prince, continued, “We also cannot underestimate other issues which remain difficult for some leaders, such as human rights, freedom of press and basic safety of journalists. It is our obligation, as the EU, to take this opportunity and press our partners to respect these basic principles.”

But the policy response so far has been weak. In a follow-up tweet, Tusk said European leaders are united in demanding a further investigation of what happened to Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

Even as Tusk reiterated his belief that sanctions already in place against Russia would be extended, there was no announcement of any new punitive measures in response to the recent naval attack on Ukrainian ships in the Sea of Azov.

Apart from stern criticism, there has been no policy action by the EU. One senior official said that such responses are in the hands of national governments, as happened in Germany, which has banned arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

French President Emmanuel Macron interacted briefly with the Saudi prince, and made an effort to rebuke him.

A video of their encounter picked up the prince telling Macron “don’t worry” and the French president replying, “I do worry. I am worried.”

Later in the conversation Macron added, “You never listen to me.” And the prince replied, “I will listen, of course.”

Asked about the conversation, a French official told reporters that Macron had conveyed “a very firm” message.

Beyond the prince and the czar, the G20 summit as a whole was largely shaping up to be a sideline event to the bilateral trade negotiations between Trump and another strongman: Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The two are scheduled to meet over dinner on Saturday night in an effort to find a truce in their trade dispute. An all-out trade war between the U.S. and China would potentially set off a devastating domino effect, putting all of the economic powers at the summit under severe pressure.