As a result of China’s refusal to denounce Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the finance ministers of the world’s top countries could not reach a consensus on a closing statement following a G20 summit in India. Parts of a G20 declaration that “strongly” condemned Russia’s behavior were rejected by Beijing. Moscow said that the G20 had been “destabilized” by “anti-Russian” Western nations. It seems as though China has published a plan to end the conflict that was viewed by some pro-Russian
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Summarization of the Summit
India issued a wide-ranging chair summary of this week’s G20 talks, which were hosted in the southern city of Bengaluru. The summary contains different assessments of the situation in Ukraine and the sanctions imposed on Russia.
Two paragraphs summarizing the war were “agreed to by all member countries, with the exception of Russia and China,” according to a footnote. The sentences taken from the G20 Bali Leaders’ Statement in November denounced “the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine in the strongest terms.”
Beijing has recently increased its diplomatic efforts in the context of the dispute after declining since the invasion a year ago. This week’s tour of Europe by its senior diplomat Wang Yi culminated in a cordial welcome in Moscow from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
China calling for peace negotiations, Russia & US President’s reaction
This week, China also released a 12-point plan for ending the conflict in Ukraine, calling for peace negotiations and respect for national sovereignty. The 12-point plan did not expressly demand Russia to remove its soldiers from Ukraine or denounce the invasion, though.
Russian President Vladimir Putin applauded the Chinese text, causing US President Joe Biden to ask: “How could it be any good if [President] Putin is applauding it?”
China and Russia tried to Brush off the Ukraine topic
Ajay Seth, a senior Indian official, claimed in a news conference following the G20 summit that the representatives from China and Russia objected to the language on Ukraine because “their mandate is to deal with economic and financial issues.”
Nonetheless, he continued, “all 18 other countries believed that it was important to bring up the war since it has ramifications for the world economy.”
The recent earthquake in Turkey, debt in low- and middle-income nations, global tax policy, and food shortages were all mentioned in the 17-paragraph summit summary.
Russia’s foreign ministry said it regretted the fact that “the activities of the G20 continue to be destabilized by the Western collective and used in an anti-Russian… way”.
US, European Unions, and G7 Nations Accused
It accused the United States, European Union, and G7 nations of “clear blackmail”, urging them to “acknowledge the objective realities of a multipolar world”.
But German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said: “This is a war. And this war has a cause, has one cause, and that is Russia and Vladimir Putin. That must be expressed clearly at this G20 finance meeting.”
Previous meetings of G20 members have also failed to produce a joint statement since Russia invaded Ukraine last February.
A resolution denouncing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was overwhelmingly supported by the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday. 141 countries supported the proposal, while 32 abstained and seven, including Russia, voted against it.
