The Russian Foreign Ministry accused the West of having “destabilized” the last G20 summit, in a press release.
Source AFP
© MANJUNATH KIRAN / AFP
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Lrussia did not like the way the last G20 Finance Summit went. As it was held in India on the anniversary of the war in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry accuses the West of having “destabilized” it by trying to “blackmail” a joint communiqué on Ukraine, which did not take place due to differences. “We regret that the activities of the G20 continue to be destabilized by the collective West and used in an anti-Russian and purely confrontational manner,” Moscow said in a statement.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the United States, the European Union and the G7 have “disrupted the adoption of collective decisions” by attempting to impose a “diktat” by “clear blackmail” so that their interpretation of the conflict in Ukraine is included in the joint statement. Moscow also accused Washington and its allies of issuing “ultimatums” to “many delegations”.
“The G20 must remain an economic forum”
“We urge the collective West to renounce its destructive policy as soon as possible, to realize the objective realities of a multipolar world,” Russian diplomacy continued. “The G20 must remain an economic forum rather than encroaching on the security sphere,” he added.
Meeting since Friday, February 24 in Bangalore, the technological capital of India, the G20 Finance was trying to agree on solutions to the challenges posed by the global economy, in a context of conflict in Ukraine and rising inflation. India, which holds the presidency of the G20, published Saturday at the end of the meetings a “summary” of the discussions, but no joint press release.
According to this document, “most members strongly condemned” the Russian offensive in Ukraine, but with “different assessments of the situation and sanctions”. An annotation specifies that within the G20, only China and Russia did not approve two paragraphs about Ukraine.
Difficult discussions
The representatives of Russia and China did not sign the language on Ukraine, arguing that their role was to “deal with economic and financial issues”, a senior Indian official, Ajay Seth, told the press. Last year, during previous meetings of the G20 Finances under the Indonesian presidency, no joint communiqué had been drafted either.
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In India, China wanted to tone down the language used about Ukraine in the G20 Finance joint statement, according to several officials familiar with the discussions interviewed by AFP on condition of anonymity. According to one of them, “China does not want to condemn the war” in Ukraine. Talks to agree on a term lasted until 2 a.m. Saturday (2030 GMT Friday), another official said. In vain. China has never publicly endorsed or criticized the offensive, but has repeatedly expressed support for Moscow in the face of Western sanctions.