Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 (G20) countries did not agree on how to characterize the war in Ukraine and are likely to conclude their meeting in India without issuing a joint statement, officials said.
The US and its allies in the Group of 7 (G7) most advanced industrialized countries appear unmoved by the joint communique’s demands to condemn Russia outright for invading its neighboring country, something in which opposed by the Russian and Chinese missionsaccording to officials.
Russia, which is a member of it G20refers to its military action in Ukraine using the term “special military operation”, it does not speak of an invasion, nor of war.
India, the host country of the meetings, is also pressuring participants to avoid using the word “war” in any announcement, as G20 officials told Reuters. India, which holds the rotating presidency of the G20, has largely maintained a neutral stance in the war, avoiding blaming Russia for the invasion, seeking a diplomatic solution and significantly increasing purchases of Russian oil.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said there was no way the group would back down from the joint statement agreed at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia last November, which says “most members strongly condemn the war in Ukraine”. , but acknowledged that some countries see things differently.
“Either we have the same language or we don’t sign a final communique”Lemaire told reporters yesterday.
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, speaking on the sidelines of the meeting yesterday, said the G20 should not back down from its earlier criticism of Russia.
“We need absolute clarity, this war was started by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin”he stated.
A senior G20 source said negotiations on the communique were difficult, with Russia and China blocking Western proposals. “India wants Bali wording preserved”according to this source.
This source and several other officials said that unless something unexpected happened at the last minute, there was unlikely to be a consensus on the communiqué and that the meeting would likely end with a statement from the host country summarizing what was discussed. were announced.
“In case there is no consensus, the option would be for India to issue a statement by the chairing country,” one of the officials said.
Source: News Beast
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