After all that confabulation, Russia has not been condemned. Who wins? A top US official claimed China is giving up on G20... and could inch more towards BRICS !!
Did Narendra Modi push a major climb down by the western countries?
The New Delhi Declaration reaffirmed that the "G20 is the premier forum for international economic cooperation" and it also acknowledged rather explicitly that the G20 is not the platform to resolve geopolitical and security issues.
"....we acknowledge that these issues can have significant consequences for the global economy."
If there is a 'compromise' by the western countries, it also means the G20's position on the war remains broadly similar to that agreed in Indonesia last year, when "most members strongly condemned the war" and one of the world's most powerful blocs had to acknowledge "there (are) other views and different assessments of the situation".
The G20 New Delhi Leaders' Declaration is thus being seen as a major climbdown by Western nations, which had been reported as insisting on strong language when referring to Ukraine and Russia's role in the war.
In gist, the G20 Delhi summit declaration "avoids" condemnation of Russia
-- Documents calls for peace in Ukraine, and for all states to refrain from use of force for territory
- Declaration says -- Black Sea grain initiative must be implemented
Phasedown of coal power agreed
Prime Minister Narendra Modi of host India announced that the declaration had been adopted on the first day of the weekend summit.
"The consensus came as a surprise as the group is deeply divided over the war in Ukraine, with Western nations earlier pushing for strong condemnation of Russia in the Leaders' Declaration, while other countries demanded a focus on broader economic issues.," says a Reuters report.
"We call on all states to uphold the principles of international law including territorial integrity and sovereignty, international humanitarian law, and the multilateral system that safeguards peace and stability," the declaration said.
"We ... welcome all relevant and constructive initiatives that support a comprehensive, just, and durable peace in Ukraine....The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible," the statement said.
The Delhi declaration also calls for the implementation of the Black Sea initiative for the safe flow of grain, food and fertiliser from Ukraine and Russia.
Moscow had pulled out of the agreement in July over what it called a failure to meet its demands to implement a parallel agreement easing rules for its own food and fertiliser exports.
"On the back of the hard work of all the teams, we have received consensus on the G20 Leaders Summit Declaration. I announce the adoption of this declaration," Modi told the leaders in New Delhi, including U.S. President Joe Biden and heads of government and state from across the world. The differing views on the war had prevented agreement on even a single communique at ministerial meetings during India's G20 presidency so far this year.
It also agreed that the world needs a total of $4 trillion of low-cost financing annually for the energy transition, with a high share of renewable energy in the primary energy mix. The statement called for accelerating efforts towards a phasedown of unabated coal power, but said this had to be done "in line with national circumstances and recognizing the need for support towards just transitions".
"Today, as the president of G20, India calls upon the entire world to first convert this global trust deficit into one trust and one confidence," Modi he said. "It is time for all of us to move together."
Despite the compromise over the Leaders' Declaration, the summit had been expected to be dominated by the West and its allies. Chinese President Xi Jinping is skipping the meeting and has sent Premier Li Qiang instead, while Russia's Vladimir Putin will also be absent.
Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Bin Salman and Japan's Fumio Kishida, among others, are also attending.
"It's incumbent upon the Chinese government to explain" why its leader would or would not participate, Jon Finer, the U.S. deputy national security adviser, told reporters in Delhi. He said there was speculation that China is "giving up on G20" in favour of groupings like BRICS, where it is dominant.
BRICS includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and has agreed to add another six new members -- Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates - accelerating its push to reshuffle a world order it sees as outdated.
Russia is being represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who had said he would block the final declaration unless it reflected Moscow's position on Ukraine and other crises. Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine has left tens of thousands of dead, displaced millions and sown economic turmoil across the world. Moscow denies committing atrocities during its conflict with Ukraine, which it terms a "special operation" to "demilitarize" its neighbour.
“All our conditions are perfectly well known. They do not need interpretation, they are absolutely concrete and all this is absolutely achievable,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
In July, Russia quit the Black Sea grain deal, which brokered by the UN and Turkey to ensure the safe transport of products from and to Ukraine – Ukraine is an agricultural hub known as the breadbasket of Europe.
The deal included an agreement to facilitate Russia’s own exports of food and fertiliser, but Moscow said this had not been fulfilled. Since quitting the grain deal, Russia has repeatedly bombed Ukrainian ports and grain stores. Today - in the context of New Delhi Declaration, Russia said it was sticking to its conditions for a return to the Black Sea grain deal – in particular a state agricultural bank, not a subsidiary of the bank that was proposed by the UN, to be reconnected to the international SWIFT bank payments system.
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