Finance ministers of the world’s largest economies were unable to agree on a joint communique at their meeting in Bengaluru on Saturday because China and Russia opposed the inclusion of text condemning the war in Ukraine.
The outcomes of the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors (FMCBG) meeting were summed up in a chair’s summary issued by India, the president of the grouping. The move reflected the impact of deep divisions created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters the draft communique included two paras on the Ukraine crisis taken from the leaders’ declaration or joint statement issued at the last G20 Summit in Indonesia, but China and Russia had a reservation about this.
“They didn’t want those two paragraphs to be in the communique…it was all agreed by all countries except for these two,” she said.
Ajay Seth, secretary of the department of economic affairs, said Russia and China contended the finance ministers have a mandate to deal with economic and financial issues and “should not get into global geopolitical issues”.
“There was no request or demand to remove the word ‘war’ but to remove the paragraphs because it is not the right place…On the other hand, all other 18 countries felt the war has got implications for the global economy. So, this is the right place to have those paragraphs,” Seth said.
Also Read: Ukraine crisis figures extensively in Modi-Scholz talks
People familiar with the matter said negotiations on the draft communique were hampered by the Russian side’s insistence on including text condemning sanctions imposed by the West. This proposal got no support and other G20 members pushed language about imposing further sanctions on Russia, the people said.
The chair’s summary stated: “Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed that it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy – constraining growth, increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, heightening energy and food insecurity, and elevating financial stability risks.”
It added, “There were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions. Recognising that the G20 is not the forum to resolve security issues, we acknowledge that security issues can have significant consequences for the global economy.”
The summary emphasised the need to uphold international law and multilateral system, including defending principles enshrined in the UN Charter and protecting civilians and infrastructure in armed conflicts. “The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible,” it said.
China and Russia were among four countries that didn’t send their ministers and central bank chiefs to the meeting, the first major ministerial gathering under India’s G20 presidency.
Earlier, French finance minister Bruno Le Maire and his German counterpart Christian Lindner insisted any joint communique must refer to the Ukraine “war”. They said a communique shouldn’t dilute the language in last year’s G20 leaders’ declaration denouncing Russia’s actions.
US treasury secretary Janet Yellen condemned the “illegal and unjustified war against Ukraine” at a session attended by Russian officials and urged G20 members to do more to hinder Russia’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 [President Vladimir] Putin’s atrocities,” she said.
Canadian finance minister Chrystia Freeland personally rebuked the Russians, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed Western official familiar with her remarks. Freeland, whose mother is of Ukrainian-origin, spoke in Russian and said: “You are apparatchiks, you are economists – you are not soldiers. But all the same, you also bear personal responsibility for this criminal war. We know who you are, and we will not forget.”
Indonesia, the last president of the G20, had struggled to forge consensus during meetings last year, most of which ended with the issuing of chair’s summaries because of divisions over text denouncing Russia’s actions. A major push by Indonesian and Indian negotiators had resulted in the consensus leaders’ declaration in Bali.