The war in Israel ended the West’s attempts to sway the Global South to support Ukraine.

According to the FT, the West has worked with leading countries in the Global South, including India, Brazil, and South Africa, to reach a consensus on supporting a rules-based global order. The dialogue continued after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, so the mentioned states would reorient their support from Russia to Ukraine.

The publication notes that after Israel invades Gaza, the words of Western leaders, particularly the US, may be perceived as hypocritical by the countries of the Global South: if Jerusalem is not to be condemned, then why is it necessary to do so with the Russian Federation?

Four weeks before the Hamas attack, leaders of the US, EU, and Western allies at the G20 summit in New Delhi appealed to developing countries to condemn Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians to ensure respect for the UN Charter and international law. Some US diplomats have privately expressed concern that Biden’s administration has failed to recognize that its broad support for Israel’s actions could alienate much of the Global South.