Bloomberg: diplomats reach a compromise on G-20 statement on war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia

The key intrigue of the two-day G20 summit, which started in the Indian capital New Delhi on September 9, was whether a joint declaration would be adopted at the end of the meeting. The "stumbling block" was Russia's war against Ukraine, the mention of which caused Russia and China to block the G20 communiqué following the summit in Indonesia.

However, this time a joint declaration with references to the war in Ukraine may be adopted. The Bloomberg publication reported on reaching a compromise on the G-20 statement on the war in Ukraine.

According to Bloomberg, during the discussion of the text of the final declaration of the summit, New Delhi managed to achieve a "breakthrough". The publication claims that diplomats were able to agree on "compromise language" that satisfied all G-20 participants, who were divided based on strong condemnation or "neutrality" on the issue of Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Thus, the text of the G-20 joint declaration was stripped of most of the language that expressed differences of opinion on such issues as sanctions and direct condemnation of Russia's war, but they were changed by a unanimous position supported by references to the principles of the United Nations.

In particular, while the communiqué of the November 2022 Bali summit in Indonesia contained the phrase "the majority of members strongly condemned the war" opposed by China and Russia, the September text will not have it. The document will recall the principles of the UN Charter, which prohibit the use of force and advocate territorial integrity.

The new draft also welcomes efforts to achieve a "comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine."

"Unlike last year's text, it does not include the contentious issue of sanctions, on which the membership could not agree. It is expected that the final statement will refer to Russia's war 'in Ukraine' rather than the war 'against Ukraine', which the US and its allies sought and Moscow opposed," the publication writes.

The joint statement will also include a phrase that was repeated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after February 24, 2022, many times. It says, "Today's era should not be an era of war".

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be at the G-20 summit this year for the second time in a row. For fear of arrest on a warrant from the International Criminal Court, the Russian dictator has sent Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to the international event once again. Putin himself has hardly traveled outside the Russian Federation since the beginning of the full-scale aggression against Ukraine, especially after the accusations of kidnapping Ukrainian children.

This important international event will not be personally attended by the leader of the PRC for the first time since 2008. Xi Jinping sent the Chinese Prime Minister instead. One of the reasons for the "demarche" of the head of China is considered to be the territorial contradictions of the PRC with India, which escalated shortly before the start of the summit in New Delhi again.

To know how the absence of Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin will affect the summit, whether the Western countries will be able to take advantage of the opportunity for rapprochement with the Global South and whether India will change its position of "neutrality" regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war, read OBOZREVATEL material.

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