G20 tensions flare over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as India resists putting word ‘war’ in official statements
- US condemned the ‘illegal and unjustified war against Ukraine’, while France and Germany insisted any joint statement from G20 must refer to the ‘war’
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi avoided mention of Ukraine or its invasion by Russia – reports say India wants to keep the word ‘war’ out of statements
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Tensions over Russia’s war on Ukraine flared on Friday at meetings of financial chiefs of the Group of 20 leading economies, where geopolitics affected the atmosphere – if not the agenda – of the gathering in the Indian technology hub of Bangalore.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen condemned the “illegal and unjustified war against Ukraine” at a session attended by Russian officials, and reiterated calls for G20 nations to do more to support Ukraine and hinder Moscow’s war effort.
“I urge the Russian officials here at the G20 to understand that their continued work for the Kremlin makes them complicit in Putin’s atrocities”, Yellen said.
“They bear responsibility for the lives and livelihoods being taken in Ukraine and the harm caused globally”.
As the meetings convened on the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, such issues were bound to crop up, despite host India’s reluctance to be caught between those countries that support Kyiv and those – including China – that support Moscow.
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Kicking off the meetings on Friday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi avoided mention of Ukraine.
The wording of a communique due to be issued on Saturday when the talks wrap up was under discussion, as other forums such as the Group of Seven prepared to announce new sanctions against Russia.
Germany and France insisted that any joint statement from the ongoing meeting of finance ministers and central bank heads must refer to the Ukraine “war”.
However, according to media reports, India – whose biggest arms supplier is Russia – wanted to keep that word out of Saturday’s final statement.
Russia is a member of the G20 but does not have a ministerial-level representative at the gathering. Next week, however, Sergey Lavrov is expected to attend a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in New Delhi.
“For a year we have been witnesses of this awful war in Ukraine started by Russia. And especially on a day like this, and at an occasion such as a G20 event, we need absolute clarity,” German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said, alluding to the one-year anniversary of the February 24 invasion.
“This is a war. And this war has a cause, has one cause, and that is Russia and [President] Vladimir Putin. That must be expressed clearly at this G20 finance meeting,” Lindner told a news conference.
He said it would be “unacceptable for Germany” if the language from a leaders’ declaration at a G20 summit in Indonesia in November – which Putin did not attend – was weakened.
That declaration, issued in Bali, said “most members strongly condemned the war”.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire echoed Lindner, saying Paris “will oppose any step back from the statement of the leaders in Bali on this question of the war in Ukraine”.
“We fully trust India to reach a strong communique,” Le Maire told a news conference.
The apparent deadlock raises the probability that the meeting in Bangalore will fail to yield any joint statement, as has been the case at similar gatherings since Russia’s invasion.
Britain’s finance minister, Jeremy Hunt, told reporters there could be no progress on major challenges including climate change and poverty alleviation without first resolving security threats.
“There is no artificial choice between whether we focus on Ukraine or whether we focus on other important global issues”, he said. “Unless we resolve the global security threats, there can be no progress on these other areas”.
A senior Indian official, speaking on condition they not be named because the talks were confidential, said as hosts India was determined to work toward a consensus and come out with a communique.
In welcoming the G20 policymakers, Modi urged them to focus on helping the world’s most vulnerable people.
“You represent the leadership of global finance and economy at a time when the world is facing serious economic difficulties,” he said in a video address.
The meetings in Bangalore were due to touch on a wide range of issues including digital currencies and payments, reform of institutions like the World Bank, climate change and financial inclusion.
The G-20 meetings offer a chance for leaders to consider how to coordinate their policies: many central banks, including the US Federal Reserve, have been raising interest rates sharply to try to rein in decades-high inflation brought on by various factors including the war and rebounding demand for travel, goods and services following the Covid-19 pandemic.
With increases in income lagging behind, rising costs for food, housing, fuel and fertiliser impose huge burdens, especially on the poor and in developing nations, where debt burdens have surged both at the national and household levels.
