Demonstrators attend a pro-Ukraine rally in Washington, DC, the US, February 25 2023. Picture: GRAEME SLOAN/BLOOMBERG
The lack of consensus among G20 members meant India resorted to issuing a “chair’s summary and outcome document” in which it simply summed up the two days of talks and noted disagreements. The outcome was similar to that of a G20 summit in Bali last November when host Indonesia also issued a final declaration acknowledging differences. The G20, formed over two decades to tackle economic crises, has increasingly struggled to reach the consensus needed to issue an official end-of-meeting communique.
US treasury secretary Janet Yellen earlier told Reuters that it is “absolutely necessary” for any statement to condemn Russia. Two delegates told Reuters that Russia and China did not want the G20 platform to be used to discuss political matters. China and India were among the nations that abstained on Thursday when the UN voted overwhelmingly to demand Moscow withdraw its troops from Ukraine and stop fighting.“It’s becoming difficult for the G20 to engage in constructive discussion because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is an act that shakes the foundations of the global order,” Japanese finance minister Shunichi Suzuki told reporters.