Russia Joins the US in Lauding India’s G20 Summit Declaration as It “Seeks Conflict Resolution”

For its position on the situation in Ukraine, the G20 Summit Declaration received plaudits from Russia, which said that the bloc’s leaders acted in the interests of peace. On Sunday, the G20 Summit started its second day.

Ukraine is mentioned four times in the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration, which also emphasizes that the modern period is not one of conflict. The joint statement asks all parties to actively contribute in bringing about peace in the area and to “refrain from the threat, or use of force, to seek territorial acquisition” without criticizing any one party in particular.

The New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration at the 2023 G20 Summit in India calls for a “comprehensive, just, and durable peace in Ukraine,” in contrast to the Bali Declaration after the 2022 G20 Summit in Indonesia, which denounced Russia for its involvement in the continuing Russo-Ukrainian conflict.

Russian officials claim they are carrying out a “special military operation” in a neighboring nation.

Despite challenging discussions on the Ukraine problem, a Russian G20 sherpa told the Russian news outlet Interfax that the result showed balance. The BRICS nations and allies’ united approach worked, everything was portrayed in a balanced manner, Lukash said. “There were really tough conversations on the Ukraine problem. The BRICs nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—met for a summit last month in Johannesburg, the country’s capital.

Additionally, the US applauded India’s leadership and its function as G20 President, pointing out that it was reflected in the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration. The unified statement was seen as a “significant milestone for India’s chairmanship and a vote of confidence that the G20 can come together to address a pressing range of issues” by TS National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan. He said that there were numerous “consequential” passages on the situation in Ukraine in the joint statement.

It took “almost 20 days” to agree on the declaration, according to Russia’s G20 Sherpa Lukash, who also stated to Interfax that it was one of the “most difficult G20 summits in the almost twenty-year history of the forum” due to disagreements on key issues like “climate change and the transition to low-carbon energy systems.”

Contrary to the 2022 G20 Bali Declaration, the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration used the phrase “war in Ukraine” rather than “war against Ukraine.” This was against the wishes of the Western nations, headed by the G7 and the EU.

This was caused, according to Lukash, “not only by some differences of opinion on the Ukraine issue, but also by differences in positions on all significant issues, particularly the issues of climate change and the transition to low-carbon energy systems.”

In contrast to this year’s declaration, which adopted a more measured stance, the G20 referenced a United Nations resolution last year in Indonesia that harshly denounced “aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine”.

The only problematic topic, according to an EU official who spoke to Reuters, was Ukraine, but he applauded India for exercising strong leadership throughout the negotiations. South Africa and Brazil also had a significant impact, the source stated.

Amitabh Kant, the G20 India Sherpa, emphasized on Saturday that under India’s G20 Presidency, there was complete unanimity. The 37-page paper included four mentions to Ukraine.

According to G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, “The New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration has 83 paragraphs in total, and all 83 paragraphs have 100 percent consensus among all countries.” The New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration “has received 100% unanimity from all countries and is a complete statement,” he said.

The G20 is not a forum for resolving geopolitical and security matters, as made abundantly apparent in the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration.