image source, Reuters
Delegates on their way to the G20 finance officials meeting place near Bangalore, India.
Finance ministers from the world’s biggest economies failed to agree on a closing statement at a summit in India, following China’s refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Beijing refused to accept parts of a statement by the G20 which condemned the invasion of Russia “in very strong terms.”
Moscow, for its part, said that “anti-Russian” Western countries had “destabilized” the G20.
The refusal comes after China this week published a plan to end the conflict and was seen by some as pro-Russian.
What happened in India?
India, which hosted the G20 talks this week in the southern city of Bangalore, issued a lengthy “chairman’s summary” of the meeting, noting that there were “different assessments of the situation” in Ukraine and of the sanctions imposed on Russia. .
A footnote said that two paragraphs summarizing the war were “agreed to by all member countries except Russia and China.” The paragraphs were adapted from the G20 Bali Leaders’ Statement in November and criticized “in the strongest terms the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine.”
image source, Getty Images
Wang Yi, China’s head of diplomacy.
Over the past few weeks, Beijing has intensified its diplomatic efforts over the conflict. Its top diplomat, Wang Yi, toured Europe this week, culminating in a warm welcome from Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
China also this week released a 12-point plan to end the war in Ukraine, calling for peace talks and respect for national sovereignty. However, the document does not specifically say that Russia must withdraw its troops from Ukraine, nor does it condemn the Russian invasion.
The Chinese document was well received by Russia, prompting US President Joe Biden to comment: “[El presidente] Putin is applauding it, so how could it be good?”
After the G20 meeting, Ajay Seth, a senior Indian official, told a press conference that the Russian and Chinese representatives disagreed with the wording on Ukraine because “their mandate is to deal with economic and financial issues.”
image source, Reuters
A Russian delegate at a table of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors at a meeting in Bangalore, India.
“On the other hand, the other 18 countries felt that the war has implications for the global economy” and it was necessary to mention it, he added.
The 17-paragraph summary of the summit also made reference to the recent earthquake in Turkey, debt in low- and middle-income countries, global fiscal policy and food insecurity.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said it regretted the fact that “the activities of the G20 continue to be destabilized by the Western collective and used in an anti-Russian manner…”.
He accused the United States, the European Union and the G7 nations of “blatant blackmail,” urging them to “recognize the objective realities of a multipolar world.”
But German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said: “This is a war. And this war has a cause and it is Russia and Vladimir Putin. That must be clearly expressed at this G20 finance meeting.”
image source, Getty Images
Christian Lindner, German Finance Minister.
Previous meetings of the G20 members have also failed to produce a joint statement since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year.
On Thursday, the UN General Assembly in New York overwhelmingly backed a resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The motion was supported by 141 countries, 32 abstained and seven, including Russia, voted against.
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