The meeting of finance ministers of the G20 held in Bengaluru, India, was closed without adopting a joint statement as member states differed in their opinions on the war in Ukraine.
On the 25th (local time), AFP reported that the adoption of a joint statement was unsuccessful at the meeting that opened the day before.
Representatives of most member states strongly condemned the war in Ukraine, but representatives of Russia and China did not agree to include phrases condemning the war in Ukraine in the joint statement.
G20 leaders, excluding Russian President Vladimir Putin, adopted a joint declaration condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and calling for an end to the war at a meeting in Bali, Indonesia in November last year.
At the time, the leaders condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine in “the strongest terms” in a joint declaration and called for the unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops.
Instead of a joint statement, India, the G20 chair, issued a summary of the chair’s statement.
The chairman’s statement included the content that “all member states except Russia and China agreed to the phrases related to the declaration (Ukraine War) of last year’s G20 Summit.”
“Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed that it was causing tremendous suffering and exacerbating global economic vulnerability,” it said. “However, there were different evaluations (opinions) about the situation and sanctions,” he added.
“China has wanted to change the wording since November last year,” an anonymous official told AFP. “China wants to remove the word war.”
Even India, the presidency, refused to criticize Russia for being its largest arms supplier and major oil supplier.
On the other hand, representatives of major Western countries such as the United States, France, and Germany have emphasized that this statement should not retreat from last year’s G20 summit declaration.
Earlier, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen argued that a statement condemning Russia was “absolutely necessary.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.