'In' or 'Against': G20 nations strike middle ground on phrasing Russia-Ukraine war

Diplomats from G20 countries have successfully brokered a compromise regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, overcoming previous disagreements between Moscow and the rest of the bloc that had posed a threat to the issuance of a joint communique during this weekend’s summit.

According to a Bloomberg report on Saturday, citing insiders familiar with the discussions, the agreed-upon phrasing closely resembles the language used at the previous year’s summit in Bali, Indonesia.

The language still awaits approval from G20 leaders, but the likelihood of approval has increased now that senior staff members have reached an agreement on the wording, added the report.

Initially, the United States and its allies had pushed for stronger language condemning what they perceive as Russian aggression, while Moscow resisted and sought to dilute the reference. China had also backed Russia’s position for a time.

The final statement is expected to explicitly mention Russia’s war “in” Ukraine, rather than using the “against Ukraine” wording sought by the US and its allies.

Other major points of contention centered on how to address differing views on sanctions (with some G-20 members sharing Russia’s opposition to them) and how to define a “just peace” for Ukraine.

Negotiations over the phrasing have been ongoing nearly around the clock in recent days, with the preliminary agreement coming as leaders commenced formal G20 sessions in New Delhi.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak previously singled out China for impeding efforts to reach a consensus, stating during an interview with Bloomberg en route to India that the pre-summit talks had been “challenging.”

Russia had accused the US and its allies of exerting pressure on India regarding the language, though New Delhi had been vigorously working to secure an agreement on a communique.

On Friday, G20 negotiators were unable to resolve disagreements over the wording of the summit declaration, according to a draft seen by Reuters, leaving any possible breakthrough to bloc leaders during the two-day meeting.

The 38-page draft that was circulated among members left the “geopolitical situation” paragraph blank, while it had agreed on the 75 other paragraphs which included climate change, cryptocurrencies and reforms in multilateral development banks.

India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant on Friday said, “New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration is almost ready, I would not like to dwell on it … This declaration will be recommended to the leaders.”

Reuters had on Friday reported that joint declaration may or may not come to a unanimous agreement. It could have different paragraphs stating the views of different countries. Or it could record agreement and dissent in one paragraph.

Similar tensions over climate issues and the war in Ukraine were witnessed at last year’s G20 summit in Bali before leaders managed to produce a joint statement on both matters. Since then, however, US-China relations have continued to deteriorate, while the BRICS grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa has expanded to include 11 members, signaling resistance to the US-led world order represented by the G7.

Sunak stated that the UK would persist in making the case to China that Russia’s actions are wrong and that it is essential to support Ukraine, particularly concerning food security.

With inputs from agencies