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India, which played an effective role in driving consensus at the Bali G20 summit on the leaders' declaration, is faced with the challenge of bridging differences over references to the Ukraine-Russia conflict in the joint communique at the end of the two-day meeting of the grouping's finance ministers and central bank governors in Bengaluru. Hectic parleys are underway to ensure that an agreement can be reached on the wording.
Several countries want a strong condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine while India wants the focus to be on the economic agenda. The meeting ends on Saturday.
"All I know is that alongside France and many other countries, the United Kingdom made strong representations not to water down the language compared to the leaders' summit in Bali," UK's chancellor of the exchequer Jeremy Hunt told ET.
New Delhi is trying to balance the language of the communique to make it acceptable to all members, people aware of the deliberations told ET.
"France will oppose any step back on the Ukraine war in the G20 communique," French finance minister Bruno Le Maire told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting. The key sticking point is the phrase "condemn the war" in Ukraine, he said.
Paragraphs dealing with the impact of the war on the global economy and its condemnation are holding up the communique.
Stepping up Diplomatic Efforts
The G7 is eyeing more sanctions as the Russia-Ukraine conflict completes one year. The grouping comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the US.
German finance minister Christian Lindner said the G20 must not fall behind in its criticism of Russia.
He said it would be "unacceptable for Germany" if the language of the leaders' declaration at the November 2022 Bali summit, which Putin did not attend, was weakened.
"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," Lindner said, referring to the first anniversary of the February 24, 2022, invasion.
The Bali declaration said "most members strongly condemned the war". It called for an immediate end to the conflict, echoing the statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's that "today's era must not be of war," which he had made at Samarkand in September when he met Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Japan called on the international community to come together, show solidarity and impose strong sanctions against Russia.
US treasury secretary Janet Yellen, according to Reuters, has accused Russian officials at the G20 meeting of being "complicit" in war atrocities.
Indian officials have stepped up diplomatic efforts to build consensus on the communique.
"We fully trust India to reach a strong communique," Le Maire said.
Hunt said the Indian finance minister (Nirmala Sitharaman) is doing a "fantastic job diplomatically" in trying to get everyone to come together.
"And I fully support her tremendous efforts. But I'm not sure whether the issue has been resolved yet," he said.
A footnote of the "Chair's Summary" said two paragraphs in the summary about the conflict, which it said were adapted from the G-20 Bali Leaders’ Declaration in November, “were agreed to by all member countries except Russia and China”.The lack of full consensus among G20 members meant that current bloc president, India, resorted to issuing a "chair's summary" in which it simply summed up the two days of talks and noted the disagreements.
The summary stated that most of the G20 nations except Russia and China "strongly condemned" the war in Ukraine and reiterated their demands for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine.
India reiterated the language used in the G20 leaders' declaration in Bali last year regarding the conflict and acknowledged that the bloc was not the appropriate forum to address security issues. However, India also recognised that such issues could have significant consequences for the global economy.
"It is essential to uphold international law and the multilateral system that safeguards peace and stability. This includes defending all the Purposes and Principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and adhering to international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and infrastructure in armed conflicts. The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible. The peaceful resolution of conflicts, efforts to address crises, as well as diplomacy and dialogue, are vital. Today’s era must not be of war."
Russia says West ‘destabilised’ G-20 talks - Straits TimesAlthough India was seen to be among countries that did not oppose the inclusion of ‘war’ in the communique, officials argued that only the stated position of the country has been recognised in the outcome document.
Russia on Saturday accused the West of destabilising the Group of 20 (G-20) finance ministers’ meeting in India by trying to force through a joint statement on Ukraine that stalled because of disagreements.
“We regret that the activities of the G-20 continue to be destabilised by the Western collective and used in an anti-Russian... way,” the foreign ministry said.
Moscow accused the United States, the European Union and the G-7 nations of having “disrupted the adoption of collective decisions” by trying to impose their “diktat” by what they said was “clear blackmail”.
"One of the successes was arriving at a common position on the debt language... It is important for us to emphasise because vulnerable countries are looking at G20 to find some solution to relieve their debt stress," India's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said after the conclusion of the two-day meeting in the Karnataka capital.
Four countries - Zambia, Ghana, Sri Lanka and Ethiopia - will benefit from the quick response by the international institutions with the G20 having paved the way for this, she said.
"Strengthening multilateral coordination by official bilateral and private creditors is needed to address the deteriorating debt situation and facilitate coordinated debt treatment for debt-distressed countries," said the chair summary and outcome statement. Sitharaman said reforming of multilateral banks was needed to make them more nimble-footed to meet the needs of developing countries.
An expert panel under Larry Summers and NK Singh have been tasked to give their recommendations on this [reforming of multilateral banks] in three months.
As for crypto assets, there is almost a clear understanding that anything not issued by a central bank is not a currency.
"I am glad that India's position is getting acknowledgement from so many members. Several have spoken about the risks of crypto assets. Unless sovereign backed, it cannot be currency and they have to be regulated," she said.
Following the G20 meeting of the finance ministers, which ended without a joint communique because of differences between G7 and Russia and China, Russia "noted" what it described as India's constructive role in the negotiations. In an official statement, the Russian foreign ministry said the Indian presidency strove for a fair consideration of interests and positions of all countries.
Russia said as a result of the "substantive dialogue" on topical financial issues, a wide range of demanded measures was agreed upon, designed to give an additional impetus to the global economy and financial markets.
"A significant contribution was made to these efforts by our country, BRICS partners and developing countries. We note the constructive role of the Indian Presidency, which strove for a fair consideration of interests and positions of all countries. The balanced approaches formulated in this context create a good foundation for responding to modern challenges in the area of global finance and related sectors, including support for economic growth and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals," said the Russian statement.
Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang Tuesday confirmed his participation in the G20 meeting on March 2 but Japan, one of India's key partners in the Indo-Pacific, will likely be represented by a junior minister. In the meantime, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov was among the first to arrive as he landed here Tuesday night while United States secretary of state Antony Blinken will arrive on Wednesday.
Both Lavrov and Blinken are expected to have respective bilateral meetings with foreign minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday.
Japan foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, who called for global efforts at the United Nations last week to force Russia to withdraw from Ukraine, may not travel to India because of a ``scheduling conflict" with an impending Parliament session. Diplomatic sources said South Korea, another important East Asian partner, will also be represented by a junior minister as foreign minister Park Jin is busy with "domestic affairs’’.
While announcing Qin’s visit, the Chinese foreign ministry said China stood ready to work with all parties to ensure the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting sends a positive signal on "multilateralism, food and energy security and development cooperation". The visit is significant as it will also be Qin’s first visit to India as foreign minister and only the second high-level visit from China – after his predecessor Wang Yi’s last year - since the military stand-off in eastern Ladakh started in April-May 2020. Official sources said Qin was likely to have a bilateral meeting with foreign minister Jaishankar.
On the Japanese foreign minister, official sources played down the development saying there was no official announcement about who was going to represent Japan and that Hayashi’s visit wasn’t entirely ruled out. Hayashi is also scheduled to participate in a Quad ministerial on March 3. A source said he could still participate in the meeting virtually. Japan, which will host the G7 summit in May this year, has had some reservations about India’s position on the Ukraine issue but Indian officials strongly denied that Hayashi’s likely absence was an intended snub. "Japan is sending one of the largest delegations to the meeting," said a source.
That the G20 meetings on Thursday will be tempestuous was again obvious Tuesday with the European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell saying he will convey a strong message on Russia's ``blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter, and its global consequences, in particular on energy and food insecurity’’ and the Russian foreign ministry declaring Lavrov will make an open statement about ``causes and masterminds’’ of problems in global politics.
TASS reported Tuesday Moscow will also present an "unbiased picture’’ of Nord Stream pipeline explosions which Russia has described as terrorist attacks. Lavrov has accused the US of being directly involved in the blasts that damaged Nord Stream, a network of undersea pipelines that runs from Russia to Germany.
The G20 foreign ministers’ meeting will officially begin Wednesday with a reception and conversation over dinner that will be hosted by Jaishankar. While a joint statement, like with the finance ministers’ meeting, is unlikely, the government is hoping the outcome will again reflect the Bali consensus with its emphasis on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remark that this isn’t the era of war. For India’s presidency, the challenge is to build a consensus, overriding differences between G7/ EU and Russia and China, that will allow the group to work towards macroeconomic stability and inclusive growth or objectives it was originally meant to achieve.
Foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Wednesday that the Russia-Ukraine conflict will be a crucial topic at the G20 foreign ministers meeting. However, he declined to speculate on whether the G20 foreign ministers' meeting would produce a joint communique, given the widening differences between the West and Russia regarding the Ukraine conflict.
"It would not be correct to prejudge the outcome of the meeting," Kwatra said at a press conference.
Kwatra emphasized that issues such as food, energy, and fertilizer security, along with the conflict's impact on these concerns, will also be given due consideration.
However, the Ukraine conflict is expected to be a significant point of contention between the West and Russia-China, even as India makes all efforts to achieve a joint statement following the critical meeting.
Kwatra said that this meeting would be the largest gathering of foreign ministers hosted by any G20 presidency, with approximately 40 delegations, including 13 from international organizations, expected to participate.
The EU delegation will not support a statement at the G20 meeting if it did not include condemnation of Russia's war against Ukraine, as Reuters reports with reference to its own source.
Separately, Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, says the success of the gathering in New Delhi would be measured by what it could do about the war and its impact.
"This war has to be condemned. I hope, I am sure that India's diplomatic capacity will be used in order to make Russia understand that this war has to finish," Borrell told reporters.
Russia said it considers G20 a prestigious forum "to firmly and openly talk about the reasons and instigators of the current serious problems in world politics and the global economy."
The main G20 meetings will be held on Thursday after a welcome dinner on Wednesday.
G20 includes the wealthy G7 nations as well as Russia, China, India, Brazil, Australia and Saudi Arabia, among other nations.
Host India said the war in Ukraine would be an important point of discussion but "questions relating to food, energy and fertiliser security, the impact that the conflict has on these economic challenges that we face" would also receive "due focus".
The meeting of foreign ministers comes days after a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Bengaluru failed to reach a consensus on a joint statement (Ukr).
The reason was the reluctance of Russia and China to agree on formulations acceptable to the other regarding the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine.
The G20 started as an economic grouping. Arguably, France, Germany, and Italy should not be part of the G20, since they do not have a central bank any more. Might be tongue in cheek, but Europe is either "integrating" or "disintegrating" depending on what time of the day it is, so we have this halfway house.NRao wrote:{First of all, why is "EU" even there? "EU" is not a nation to be part of "G20"}
{The war in Ukraine is an EU affair, not a global one}
Foreign minister S Jaishankar and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov held discussions on the Ukraine crisis and key areas in bilateral cooperation, including energy, trade and investment and use of mutual currencies for trade settlement. There were discussions also on Afghanistan, SCO and Brics cooperation and, as Moscow said, creation of a security architecture in the Indo-Pacific. {Probably more to throw a spanner in the QUAD works and drive a wedge between India and the other three countries}
The two leaders also discussed the effects of the Ukraine conflict like food and energy crises on developing countries. "A wide ranging discussion with FM Sergey Lavrov of Russia on #G20FMM sidelines. Exchanged views on our bilateral cooperation and G20 issues," Jaishankar tweeted.
Ahead of the meeting, Russia said it supported India's G20 presidency in its commitment to promote a unifying agenda that will restore confidence in multilateral diplomacy and prevent the fragmentation of the global economy. "We share the relevance of India's stated priorities: ensuring inclusive and sustainable economic growth; accelerating progress towards the achievement of sustainable development goals; reforming multilateral institutions; digital modernisation; and increasing women's economic engagement," said the Russian foreign ministry. "We aim to work together with our Indian colleagues to achieve the desired result, showing the greatest possible flexibility. At the same time, we will defend Russia's fundamental interests and an international world order based on the central role of the UN and international law," said the Russian foreign ministry.
In a sign of things to come in the G20 meetings on Thursday, Russia said it intended to firmly and openly talk about the reasons and instigators of the current serious problems in world politics and the global economy. "We will focus on attempts by the West to take revenge for the inevitable disappearance of the levers of dominance from its hands,'' it said.
- at informal briefing of G20 FMCBG Meeting & FM Mtg"The USA took its G20 presidency to 12 cities, China to 14 cities, & Indonesia to 25. We're taking it to 56 cities across India, from Kashmir in north to Kanyakumari in south."
Good thinking on the part of India. I think all G20 meetings should be held in AP to discourage disruption from China.g.sarkar wrote:https://thewire.in/diplomacy/china-abse ... al-pradesh
China Absent from G20 Side Event on Science and Innovation in India's Arunachal Pradesh
As part of the science vertical, the Ministry of Earth Sciences has a Research and Innovation Initiative Gathering (RIIG) and had planned five meetings before the ministerial summit in Mumbai in July.
The Wire Staff, 27/3/2023
New Delhi: China did not take part in the two-day side event of the G20 process on science and innovation held in the capital of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.
During the year-long G20 chairmanship, India has organised over 55 meetings across the country. The three main ‘workstreams’ in the G20 are the sherpa, finance and engagement groups, each with scores of sub-groups.
The G20 official website only lists the three streams on its calendar. But there are also several other meetings which are held at the discretion of the host.
As part of the science vertical, the Ministry of Earth Sciences has a Research and Innovation Initiative Gathering (RIIG) and had planned five meetings before the ministerial summit in Mumbai in July.
While all the meetings under its aegis are being held in a single city, the third side event was scheduled in two cities, Dibrugarh in Assam and Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh. The first part was held on Friday in Dibrugarh, followed by the delegates travelling to Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday.
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Gautam
Why China is boycotting, is it just to support TSP or they have other interest in this region too ?krithivas wrote:Good news, China and TSP to "boycott" G20 meetings at J&K -
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/1 ... in-kashmir