The G-20 meeting in India on the war in Ukraine ended without a consensus

BENGALURU, India — The meeting of financial leaders of the Group of 20 leading economies ended without consensus on Saturday, with Russia and China objecting to the description of the war in Ukraine in the final document.

The meeting, organized by India, released a summary of the G-20 president and an outcome document that said there was no consensus on the wording of the war in Ukraine. The first day of the meeting took place on the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Group of Seven major industrial nations announced new sanctions against Russia on Friday, just as G-20 talks descended into disarray in the Indian technology hub of Bengaluru.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen condemned the “illegal and unjustified war against Ukraine” at a meeting attended by Russian officials and reiterated the G-20 nations’ need to do more to support Ukraine and hinder Moscow’s war effort.

At the last major G20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia, in November, leaders strongly condemned the war, warning that the conflict would increase the fragility of the global economy. The group includes Russia, as well as countries such as China and India, which do significant trade with Moscow.

Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters that the communique for the Bengaluru meeting included two paragraphs from the Bali declaration, but Russia and China demanded they be deleted and said they could not be part of the final document this time.

They claim that the Bali Declaration was approved under the circumstances at the time, he said. “They didn’t want it now,” Sitharaman said. He did not reveal any other details.

According to the Bali statement, “most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine, stressing that it is causing enormous human suffering and exacerbating the existing fragility of the global economy – limiting growth, increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, increasing energy and food safety, financial stability risks.”

The statement also said: “There are different views and different assessments of the situation and the sanctions. The G-20 is not a forum for solving security issues, we recognize that security issues can have significant consequences for the global economy.”

The second paragraph of the declaration, which is now unacceptable to Russia and China, stated: “It is indispensable to maintain international law and the multilateral system that ensures peace and stability. … The use or threat of nuclear weapons is inadmissible. Peaceful resolution of conflicts, crisis management efforts, as well as diplomacy and dialogue, are vital. Today’s age cannot be one of war.”

Sitharaman said the meeting could not issue a statement due to objections from Russia and China and decided to go with the summary and outcome document.

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Sharma reported from New Delhi.