Russia praised the G20 Summit Declaration for its stance on the war in Ukraine and said that the bloc’s leaders acted in the interest of conflict resolution. The G20 Summit entered its second day on Sunday.
The New Delhi’s Leaders’ Declaration mentions Ukraine four times and reiterates that today’s era is not an era of war. The language used in the joint statement does not criticise any party and urges all parties to actively participate in restoring peace in the region and to “refrain from the threat, or use of force, to seek territorial acquisition”.
Unlike the Bali Declaration following the 2022 G20 Summit in Indonesia, which condemned Russia for its role in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration at the 2023 G20 Summit India urges for a “comprehensive, just, and durable peace in Ukraine”.
Russia says it is conducting a “special military operation" in its neighbouring country.
Russian G20 sherpa told Russian news agency Interfax that despite difficult negotiations on the Ukraine issue, the outcome reflected balance. “There were very difficult negotiations on the Ukraine issue; first of all, the collective position of the BRICS countries and partners worked, everything was reflected in a balanced form,” Lukash said. BRICs groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and these nations held a summit last month in South Africa’s capital Johannesburg.
The US also praised India’s leadership and its role as G20 President highlighting that it reflected in the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration. TS national security adviser (NSA) Jake Sullivan termed the joint statement as a “significant milestone for India’s chairmanship and a vote of confidence that the G20 can come together to address a pressing range of issues”. He outlined that the joint statement consisted of several “consequential” paragraphs on the situation in Ukraine.
Russia’s G20 Sherpa Lukash also told Interfax that it was one of the “most difficult G20 summits in the almost twenty-year history of the forum” and said due to difference on positions in key issues like “climate change and the transition to low-carbon energy systems” it took “almost 20 days” to agree on the declaration.
The Western countries led by the G7 and the EU wanted the joint declaration to use language which condemns Russia but the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration used “war in Ukraine" and not “war against Ukraine” unlike the 2022 G20 Bali Declaration.
“This was not only due to some disagreements on the Ukraine subject, but also due to differences in positions on all key issues, primarily the issues of climate change and the transition to low-carbon energy systems,” Lukash said.
Last year in Indonesia, the G20 referred to a United Nations resolution that strongly condemned “aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine”, unlike this year’s statement which took a more measured tone.
However, an EU official told news agency Reuters that Ukraine was the only contentious issue but praised India’s strong leadership during the negotiation. The official added that Brazil and South Africa also played a crucial role.
G20 India Sherpa Amitabh Kant on Saturday emphasised that India during its G20 Presidency achieved 100 percent consensus. Ukraine was mentioned four times in the 37 pages document.
“The New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration has 83 paras in all and all 83 paras have 100 percent consensus among all countries,” G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said. “All countries have unanimously agreed to the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration and is a complete statement with 100% unanimity,” he further added.
The G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration in its language conveys a clear message that the G20 is not a platform to resolve geopolitical and security issues.
