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G20 leaders failed to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a joint statement after China and Russia rejected language blaming Moscow for the conflict, emphasizing the lack of global consensus in support of Kiev .
The New Delhi summit statement only refers to the “war in Ukraine,” a phrase previously rejected by pro-Kiev supporters such as the US and NATO allies, as it implies that both sides are equally complicit.
The declaration, crafted after weeks of negotiations between diplomats, comes as a blow to Western countries that have been trying over the past year to persuade developing countries to condemn Moscow and back Ukraine.
The previous G20 statement, made in Indonesia last November, spoke of “aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.” Western diplomats said China’s refusal to repeat that phrase was key in persuading host India to propose a compromise language.
Referring to the war, India’s Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said, “The fact is that this is a very divisive issue today and there are different views on it.” There are different views on this, so I think in fairness it was only right “To capture the reality in the meeting rooms.”
The declaration also includes a pledge by leaders of the world’s largest economies to “continue and encourage efforts to triple renewable energy capacity globally” but does not include a deadline for phasing out fossil fuels. China and Saudi Arabia led efforts to block such remarks at G20 meetings in July.
Adopting the declaration will be a foreign policy coup for India and its Prime Minister Narendra Modi after speculation that divisions over Ukraine were too great to bridge. Modi will face voters in a poll seeking re-election to a third term in early 2024.
“We have highlighted the human suffering and negative co-impacts of the war in Ukraine in terms of global food and energy security, supply chains, macro-financial stability, inflation and growth,” the joint statement said. “There were different views and assessments of the situation.”
The statement called for a “just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” but did not explicitly link this demand to the importance of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, as Western countries had called for. It also did not contain the statement from the 2022 version that said: “Most members strongly condemned the war.”
Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, nevertheless said the statement contained “a number of momentous paragraphs” on the war in Ukraine.
“In our view, it contributes very well to the principle that states should not use force to seek territorial acquisition.” . that the use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible, that a just peace must be based on the principles of the UN Charter,” he added.
Overall, the statement is a “vote of confidence that the G20 can come together to address a number of pressing issues and also resolve difficult issues that are truly very separating some members from others,” Sullivan said.
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India, which describes itself as the leader of the so-called group of developing countries in the Global South, was also successful with its campaign to have the African Union accepted as a full member of the G20.
“It is a special pleasure for us that the African Union has become a member of the G20 during the Indian presidency,” Jaishankar told reporters.
The joint statement also references the digital public infrastructure that India has promoted during its presidency as a template for financial inclusion and economic productivity improvements, after its own successful attempt to bring more than a billion people online.
The still-unexplained absence of China’s President Xi Jinping hung over the summit. He skipped the meeting for the first time, instead sending the country’s second-tier cadre, Premier Li Qiang, in what some analysts dubbed “Brussels.”
But the wording of the communiqué still reflected many Chinese talking points, such as that the G20 should limit itself to international economic issues and the language on Ukraine and nuclear weapons. China has also strongly emphasized its role in supporting African Union membership.
In his speech to the summit, Li said the G20 needed “unity rather than division, cooperation rather than confrontation and inclusion rather than exclusion,” according to state news agency Xinhua.
The comments are consistent with China’s portrayal of the United States and its allies as pioneering a “bloc confrontation” and a “Cold War mentality.”
Li also told the audience that China will provide momentum to the global economy despite its sluggish recovery from the Covid-19 crisis, as there are signs that its traditional growth engines of real estate and debt-fueled infrastructure spending are running out of steam.