- Wording on the Ukraine war unresolved – draft
- Sherpas leave geopolitics paragraph blank – draft
- G20 summit is dominated by the West, Xi and Putin are absent
- New Delhi is decorated, the business district is closed for meetings
NEW DELHI, Sept 8 (Portal) – G20 negotiators failed to settle disagreements over the wording of the summit declaration on the war in Ukraine on Friday, according to a draft seen by Portal. Day meeting.
The 38-page draft circulated among members left the “geopolitical situation” paragraph blank while agreeing on the 75 other paragraphs, which included climate change, cryptocurrencies and reforms in multilateral development banks.
G20 Sherpas have been struggling for days to agree on the language amid disagreements over the war, hoping to win Russia over to drafting a communiqué.
India’s G20 Sherpa, or negotiator, Amitabh Kant said earlier in the day: “The New Delhi leaders’ statement is almost ready, I don’t want to elaborate… This statement is commended to leaders.”
A source told Portal that a joint statement may or may not lead to a unanimous agreement. It could contain different paragraphs presenting the views of different countries. Or it could record agreement and disagreement in one paragraph.
“We can cover up the differences and make a general statement saying that we should have peace and harmony around the world for everyone to agree,” a second source said.
According to another senior source in one of the G20 countries, the paragraphs on the war against Ukraine had been agreed by western countries and sent to Russia for comment.
The official said Russia has an opportunity to accept Western countries’ views and express its dissenting opinion as part of the statement. Failure to reach an agreement would require India to issue a presidency statement, meaning the G20 would not issue a statement for the first time in 20 years of summits.
An EU diplomat said India had done an “excellent” job as host in finding compromises.
“But so far Russia is blocking a compromise that would otherwise be acceptable to everyone else.”
The document revealed that the group had agreed to address debt vulnerabilities in low- and middle-income countries “in an effective, comprehensive and systematic manner” but did not produce a new action plan.
The draft also shows that countries have committed to strengthening and reforming multilateral development banks while accepting the proposal for tighter regulation of cryptocurrencies.
It was also agreed that the world needs a total of $4 trillion in low-cost financing for the energy transition each year.
The streets of the normally bustling capital New Delhi were deserted on Friday. Shops, offices and schools were closed for security reasons to ensure the smooth running of the country’s most important gathering.
Slums were demolished and monkeys and stray dogs were removed from the streets.
XI, Putin is missing
The two-day summit, which begins on Saturday in New Delhi, is expected to be dominated by the West and its allies. Chinese President Xi Jinping is skipping the meeting and sending Premier Li Qiang instead, while Russia’s Vladimir Putin will also be absent.
Among others, US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Mohammed Bin Salman from Saudi Arabia and Fumio Kishida from Japan will attend.
Hardened stance on the war has so far prevented ministerial meetings during India’s G20 presidency from agreeing a single communiqué so far this year, leaving leaders to find a way out if possible.
China said on Friday it was ready to work with all parties and push for a positive outcome at the summit.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning made the remark after Sunak said in a media report that he blamed China for delaying an agreement on various issues, including Ukraine.
In New Delhi, Sunak said it was not his job to tell India what stance it should take in the war in Ukraine.
“It is not my job to tell India what positions it should take on international issues, but I know that India rightly cares about the international rule of law, the UN Charter and respect for territorial integrity,” Sunak told reporters the Indian news agency ANI.
India avoided blaming Moscow for the war and called for a solution through dialogue and diplomacy. The Financial Times reported on Thursday that Sunak would ask his Indian counterpart to “alert” Russia over its invasion in February 2022.
PRESENTING INDIA
Modi’s government expects India’s chairmanship of the group and the summit to be a showcase for the country’s fast-growing economy and its rising position in the geopolitical pecking order.
New Delhi has been decked out for the meeting with a brand new summit venue, fountains, flower pots and lighting along major roads as thousands of armed security guards stand guard.
More than 100 Tibetan refugees protested outside the city center on Friday, demanding that China’s “occupation” of their country be discussed during the summit.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said earlier that Washington was ready to work with India to help draft a communiqué at the end of the summit, but that would be a challenge.
There was no mention of phasing out fossil fuels in the draft.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said G20 leaders had the power to reignite an “out-of-control” climate crisis and urged them to revamp global financial rules, which he called outdated and unfair .
“The climate crisis is worsening dramatically – but the collective response lacks ambition, credibility and urgency,” Guterres said in a speech.
Additional reporting by Manoj Kumar, Katya Golubkova and Krishn Kaushik; Writing by YP Rajesh and Aftab Ahmed; Editing by Kim Coghill, Raju Gopalakrishnan and Nick Macfie
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