Several documents illustrate how a number of developing countries are avoiding participation in disputes between major powers, endangering Biden’s agenda on the world stage, the Washington Post, cited by Rador, revealed.

India, Brazil, Pakistan and Egypt and a double leg

Biden’s agenda faces major challenges on the world stage as a number of developing countries seek to circumvent deepening rifts between the United States, Russia and China, and in some cases use that rivalry to their own advantage. classified US information.

The documents, which are part of a series of US classifieds released via the online messaging service Discord, offer a rare foray into the private calculations of major developing countries such as India, Brazil, Pakistan and Egypt as they struggle to maintain a certain duality in time. , when America is no longer the undisputed world superpower.

The previously undisclosed leaks also offer a glimpse into the obstacles facing Biden in his bid to garner global support for his efforts to counter rising authoritarianism, stem Russia’s belligerence abroad, and counter China’s growing global presence — as a number of influential regional powers seek to stay aloof. .

The White House did not respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of Defense, where many of the documents were passed to senior management before they appeared online, also declined to comment.

Mathias Spector, a professor at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, says a number of developing countries are re-aligning at a time when America faces possible new competition as China plans a new economic and military strategy and Russia, though weakened by Vladimir’s war Putin in Ukraine, proves his ability to soften Washington’s pressure.

“It’s not clear who will be in the best position 10 years from now, so they need to diversify their exposure and hedge their bets,” says Spector.

Pakistan is getting closer to China

This is evident in Pakistan, which received billions of dollars in US economic and security aid after 9/11 and now relies heavily on Chinese investment and credit.

According to one of the leaked documents, Pakistan’s secretary of state for foreign affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar, said in March that her country “can no longer seek to maintain a middle position between China and the United States.”

In an internal document titled Pakistan’s Hard Choices, Khar, who was previously Pakistan’s foreign minister, warned that Islamabad must avoid any sign of leaning on the West, and that ultimately Pakistan’s instinctive partnership with the United States would sacrifice benefits for all of what he considered a “true strategic” partnership with China.

The leak, which is undated, also does not explain how the United States could have obtained access to the Har report.

Another document, dated February 17, comments on Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s discussions with his subordinate about an upcoming UN vote on the conflict in Ukraine, which the government expected would mean further pressure from the West to support a resolution condemning the Russian invasion.

The junior told Sharif that supporting such a measure would lead to Pakistan abandoning its previous position when he refrained from supporting such a resolution, the intelligence document said.

Pakistan had enough experience to negotiate trade and energy deals with Russia, but supporting the West’s resolution would harm those relations, the adviser stressed.

When the UN General Assembly voted for (the resolution) on February 23, Pakistan was among the 32 countries that abstained.

Officials in Pakistan and other countries mentioned in the leaked documents declined to comment.

South Africa, India and Colombia

While key US allies in Europe and Asia have joined forces and supported Biden’s campaign in Ukraine, providing more weapons and divesting themselves of Russian energy resources, Washington has faced resistance elsewhere.

The Biden administration has told these countries that it is not asking them to choose between the United States on the one hand and China and Russia on the other, a point Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has made in his travels. But a number of countries, including South Africa and Colombia, are reticent about what they see as an implicit option.

Last year, when Blinken visited South Africa, another developing country that has recently engaged in military maneuvers with Russia and could reject an International Criminal Court request to arrest Putin if he visits the country this summer, officials told the US secretary of state that they you can’t force them to make decisions they don’t like.

Similarly, India appeared to avoid choosing between Washington and Moscow during the February 22 talks between India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Kumar Doval and his Russian counterpart Mykola Patrushev, another leaked document revealed.

According to the document, Doval assured Patrushev of India’s support for Russia in various fields, saying that the government in New Delhi was trying to ensure that war would not be on the agenda of discussions at the Group of 20 industrialized nations (G-20) meeting under the chairmanship of India. despite “considerable pressure” to persuade him to do so.

A week later, at the meeting of G-20 foreign ministers in New Delhi, disagreements over Ukraine resulted in a lack of consensus on other global issues.

The leaked document shows that Doval also mentioned India’s resistance to pressure to support a Western UN resolution on Ukraine, saying his country “will not back down from the principles adopted in the past”.

People familiar with India’s position say the country does not support Russia’s war — echoing criticism Prime Minister Narendra Modi has personally leveled at Putin — but the country has long relied on Russian support at the United Nations and has no other choice. in addition to maintaining relations with Russia in terms of energy and economy.

Reducing dependence on Russia

Unlike the Non-Aligned Movement, which flourished during the Cold War and saw countries such as Algeria and Cuba struggle against colonialism and Western rule, experts say today there is no common ideology and no clear signs that the countries that it is said, they want to slip through. it is a rivalry between great powers.

At the same time, Central Asian countries are looking to exploit this competition and gain more from the United States, China and Europe as they look to reduce their dependence on Russia, according to a Feb. 17 assessment by the director of the US National Intelligence Service. .

The document did not specify which countries were in question, but it is likely to include Kazakhstan, which is seeking to reduce Russia’s influence and establish a new energy and trade partnership.

A number of regional leaders are “willing to work with anyone who offers them the most immediate benefits, but so far that provider is China,” the document also said.

Some officials from the “Global South” – a term used to refer to certain regions in Asia, Africa and Latin America – are seen as a diplomatic bridge between the three rivals. Among them is Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has sought to restore his country’s role on the world stage after a period of isolation under his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.

As The Washington Post previously reported, the effects of tensions between the United States and Russia are particularly acute in Egypt, which receives more than $1 billion in annual aid from Washington but has deepened ties with Moscow. Russia is building the first nuclear power plant in Egypt and promises to provide it with weapons.

Spector says that while the Biden administration wants to appease, not intimidate, developing countries into supporting its global priorities, they are likely to be cautious.

“These countries are chasing the United States, but the United States is much stronger than them,” says Spector. “When you’re negotiating with a mammoth, it doesn’t matter if the mammoth agrees with what you’re saying. When it moves, the ground still shakes,” the Washington Post quoted Rador as saying.