On September 9-10, the G20 summit brought together the leaders of the world’s largest economies for a two-day meeting.
At this year’s summit, G20 leaders discussed controversial topics such as the war in Ukraine and the fight against climate change. However, they avoided directly criticizing Moscow and making concrete commitments to phasing out polluting fossil fuels.
The G20 summit was hosted by the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
This summit lasts two decades and ends with a declaration by leaders expressing their commitment to shared priorities.
Ahead of the New Delhi meeting, bloc members needed help reaching consensus on the reference to the Ukraine conflict. The West wanted Moscow to be held accountable for its invasion, while Russia threatened to veto any resolution that did not align with its beliefs.
According to a Sept. 8 Reuters report, negotiators at the G20 summit left the section on Ukraine blank in the leaders’ draft declaration because they failed to resolve their differences.
As host, India faced a significant diplomatic problem and struggled to achieve consensus among members.
Finally, the Group of 20 adopted a statement refraining from condemning Russia for its actions in Ukraine. Instead, they urged all nations to avoid using force to gain control of territory.
The recently adopted declaration also calls for the full and timely implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, from which Moscow withdrew in early July, to ensure the safe transportation of grain, food and fertilizer between countries. Ukraine and Russia.
The statement expresses concern about the negative impact of war on the security of civilians and calls for an end to the destruction or attacks on food and security infrastructure.
The G20 admitted the African Union, with its 55 member states, as a permanent member, highlighting the bloc’s representation of the South. The two presidents Xi Jinping of China and Vladimir Poutine from Russia were absent.
Modi and the South
Despite Russia’s involvement in the Ukraine war, Prime Minister Modi did not impose any sanctions against it and he wanted to avoid the issue dominating the event. The summit aimed to draw attention to the needs of the South.
Unfortunately, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky was not invited to attend.
India, Brazil, South Africa and China continued to cooperate with Russia at different levels and did not apply any sanctions against the Kremlin. As a result, the South’s position in the negotiations helped prevent the G20 summit from openly condemning Russia.
Charles Michel: The Kremlin uses food as a weapon, to the detriment of the most vulnerable.
In a speech delivered at the annual G20 summit in New Delhi, Charles-Michelthe president of the European Council, said the grain deal had provided vulnerable countries with more than 30 times the amount Russia offered Africa.
“As we speak, Russia continues to attack the sovereign nation of Ukraine, killing people and destroying its cities. This is why the EU will continue to strongly support Ukraine and put pressure on Russia. The Kremlin’s war is also destroying lives far beyond Ukraine, including right here in South Asia. More than 250 million people face acute food insecurity worldwide. And by deliberately attacking Ukrainian ports, the Kremlin is depriving them of the food they desperately need. It is scandalous that Russia, after ending the Black Sea Initiative, is blocking and attacking Ukrainian sea ports,” said the President of the EU Council.
Russia must allow ships carrying essential grain to cross the Black Sea. Charles Michel said that the European Union is offering alternative export routes through our solidarity routes to resolve this problem. As a reliable and helpful partner of the global community, the EU advocates for greater cooperation and increased multilateralism among nations. Given the current difficult circumstances, this G20 is particularly crucial for the future of the world, underlined the President of the EU Council.
Western politicians: Russia is increasingly isolated
During a press conference on Sunday, the French president Emmanuel Macron expressed his opinion that there might be better forums for diplomatic efforts regarding the conflict in Ukraine than the G20, initially created to deal with global economic issues. Despite this, he said Russia had not won diplomatic victories with the G20 declaration and had remained isolated from the summit.
The Group of 20 recently issued a statement denouncing the use of force for territorial conquest. Although they did not mention Russia by name, Western politicians say the country has become increasingly isolated following the summit.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan praised the declaration for supporting the principle that states should not use force to acquire territory or violate the sovereignty and political independence of other states. Vladimir Putin did not attend the summit to avoid political backlash and the risk of being arrested for war crimes.
Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida also warned that Russia’s actions against Ukraine could shake the foundations of the G20.
Ukraine’s reaction
The kyiv Foreign Ministry reacted and denounced the statement as “nothing to be proud of.”
“The G20 adopted a final declaration. We thank the partners who tried to include strong wording in the text. However, when it comes to Russian aggression against Ukraine, the G20 has nothing to be proud of. Obviously, the participation of the Ukrainian side would allow participants to better understand the situation. The principle “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine” remains more essential than ever,” Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs said on his Facebook page, Oleg Nikolenko.
