Group of 20 foreign ministers failed to reach an agreement on language to describe Russia’s war in Ukraine, India’s top diplomat Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told reporters after a meeting of the group.
(Bloomberg) — Group of 20 foreign ministers failed to reach an agreement on language to describe Russia’s war in Ukraine, India’s top diplomat Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told reporters after a meeting of the group.
“Given the state of polarization around Ukraine, a consensus could not be reached,” Jaishankar said, adding that the host will issue an outcome document rather than a formal joint statement. “There are occasions when you don’t have an agreement among G-20 countries.”
A similar meeting of G-20 finance ministers and central bank heads over the weekend also failed to reach a consensus on wording, forcing India as host to issue a chair’s summary instead of a joint communique. At that meeting, Russia and China deviated from a formula established at a summit in November, objecting to the use of the word “war.”
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The lack of consensus adds a question mark to New Delhi’s ability to bridge the divide in time for a leaders’ summit in September. The coordinated move between Moscow and Beijing also points to stronger ties as Washington and its allies impose heavy sanctions to isolate Russia.
Last year, a carefully worded statement — which referred to the “war in Ukraine” but not “Russia’s war in Ukraine” — was signed off by all G-20 leaders, even as it made clear some countries have “other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions.”
India signaled its frustration by singling out Russia and China for deviating from a previous agreement in its so-called Chair’s Summary.
Jaishankar gave no details on the specific discussions Thursday. But senior Indian officials with direct knowledge of the matter said both Moscow and Beijing explicitly pushed back on the word “war,” in line with the weekend meeting.
The Kremlin and Russian media outlets have adhered to the official euphemism “special military operation” to describe the yearlong invasion of Ukraine. Calling the conflict a “war” has been made a criminal offense in Russia.
Earlier Thursday, China had emphasized the need for G-20 diplomats to build off a consensus at the November summit in Bali, signaling an effort to move past divisions over the conflict. “We should build on our good work in Bali and press ahead for greater progress,” Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said.
(Updates with India’s role, Chair’s Summary from fourth paragraph.)
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