G20: East-West showdown over Russia's war in Ukraine looms at India meeting

Stark divisions over Russia's war in Ukraine and concerns about China's motives are set to dominate what looks set to be a highly contentious meeting of G20 foreign ministers in India.

The rift between the US and its allies on one side, and Russia and China on the other, appears likely to widen further as top diplomats from the world's largest industrialised and developing nations gather in New Delhi.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and their Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov will all be present and battling for support from non-aligned members of the group.

Although they will all be in the same room together, Blinken has said he has not plans to meet either individually. Washington's chief diplomat has spent two days in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan warning Central Asia about the threat posed by Russia.

A Chinese peace plan for Ukraine -- praised by Russia but greeted sceptically in the West -- has done little to improve matters. US officials have repeatedly accused China of considering sending weapons to Russia.

The allegations have aggravated the poor relations between the world's two largest economies over Taiwan, human rights, Hong Kong and the South China Sea. Tensions heightened further in February when the US shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon in American airspace, prompting Blinken to postpone a trip to Beijing.

On Wednesday Blinken again criticised China's peace plan for Ukraine.

“If China was genuinely serious about this ... it would have been spending all of the last year working in support of the restoration of Ukraine’s full sovereignty,” he told reporters in Tashkent. “And of course, it’s been doing the opposite."

“China can’t have it both ways,” Blinken said. “It can’t be