BENGALURU (AP) – G20 finance chiefs could end Saturday’s meeting in India without a joint communiqué after failing to reach consensus on how to account for war in Ukraine high, the delegation said.
The United States and its G7 allies are adamant about demanding a communiqué explicitly condemning Russia for its neighbor’s aggression, which Russian and Chinese delegations opposed, they said.
Russia, a member of the G20, describes its actions in Ukraine as “military special operations”, not aggression or war.
Host India is also pushing the meeting to avoid using the word “war” in its communiqué, G20 officials told Reuters. India, the current G20 presidency, has remained broadly neutral in the war, not condemning Russian aggression, seeking a diplomatic solution, and ramping up purchases of Russian oil. I am letting French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said there was no way for the group to withdraw from the joint statement agreed at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia last November, saying that “most of its members are at war. ” and was criticized in Ukraine,” but also recognized that some countries view the conflict differently.
“We either have the same language or we haven’t signed the final communiqué,” Lemaire told reporters on Friday.
Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner said around Friday’s meeting that the G20 should not fall behind previous criticisms of Russia.
“This is a war started by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and requires absolute clarity.”
Such impasses have become increasingly common in his G20, a forum created more than two decades ago in response to past economic crises, but more recently with the West and others such as China and Russia. are hampered by differences between countries. A senior G20 source said negotiations on the communiqué were difficult because Russia and China blocked proposals from the West. “India intends to comply with the Bali documents,” said the source.
Sources and several other officials said that without a last-minute surprise, consensus on a communiqué was unlikely and the meeting would likely end with a statement from the organizers summarizing the discussions.
“If no consensus is reached, India’s option is to issue a chairman’s statement,” one of the people said.
India’s foreign ministry, finance ministry and information ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
