The G20 summit statement did not directly criticize Russia by name, prompting Kiev to lash out
Source: Global Network
According to an AFP report on the 9th, the joint statement of the G20 summit adopted on the same day did not directly criticize Russia by name, which triggered Kiev's criticism. Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko quickly spoke out on social media on the same day, saying that "there is nothing to be proud of" about the statement.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko
Nikolenko wrote on social platforms such as X, "Ukraine is grateful to those partners who tried to put strong language in their statements." At the same time, the G20 has nothing to be proud of in terms of Russian aggression against Ukraine".
According to the report, Nikolenko also posted a picture of part of the statement modified in red font, the wording of the picture changed "war in Ukraine" to "war against Ukraine" and added naming criticism of Russia. For example, the statement called on "all States not to acquire territory by the threat or use of force in violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty or political independence of any State". The version posted by Nikolenko changed "all countries" to "Russia".
Declare part of the content
The joint statement of the G20 summit in India did not explicitly mention Russia, unlike the G20 summit statement issued in Bali last year, which quoted a UN resolution saying "condemning Russia's aggression against Ukraine in the strongest possible terms," AFP said.
Regarding the joint declaration of the G20 summit, Russia accused the United States and the West of putting pressure on India. The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the 8th, saying, "G7 countries (first of all, the United States, Britain, Germany, France) are putting pressure on India to try to express their unilateral position on the situation in Ukraine in the final outcome document of the G20 event." Against this background, the Indian side has tried its best to adhere to a neutral position from the perspective of the G20 purely solving economic problems." The statement also said that India rejected Western requests to invite Ukraine to relevant G20 meetings.
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The G20 summit was held in New Delhi, India, on September 9-10. Comprehensive Russian news agency, TASS news agency and other Russian media reports, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the 8th, saying that the Group of Seven (G7) countries are putting pressure on India to try to express the unilateral position of the G7 on the situation in Ukraine in the final outcome document of the G20 summit, but in this context, India tries its best to adhere to a neutral position.
Russian Foreign Ministry Infographic
According to TASS, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on the same day that "G7 countries (first of all, the United States, Britain, Germany, France) are putting pressure on India to try to express their unilateral position on the situation in Ukraine in the final outcome document of the G20 event." Against this background, the Indian side has tried its best to adhere to a neutral position from the perspective of the G20 purely solving economic problems." The statement also said that India rejected Western requests to invite Ukraine to relevant G20 meetings.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also said in a statement that the G20 "is being negatively affected by geopolitical tensions, international community divisions and unilateral confrontational measures by Western countries." "Since 2022, some Western countries have been taking targeted steps to try to put Ukraine-related topics on the G20 agenda, including using the summit to continue to promote their geopolitical views, thereby influencing the constructive resolution of the problem." The statement said that attempts to selectively include some peace and security issues on the G20's agenda are not constructive and will lead to the loss of vitality of the G20.
According to the report, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russia believes that it is important to correctly interpret the global geopolitical situation, the Ukrainian crisis and other armed conflicts, the necessary conditions for restoring peace and stability, and adhere to the principle of the United Nations as the core and the primacy of international law when solving problems. The ministry also said that Russia has always adhered to the position of the importance of depoliticizing the G20 negotiation process.
Since Russia launched a special military operation against Ukraine in February 2022, G7 countries have supported Ukraine by announcing military assistance to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia, which has aroused strong opposition from the Russian side. According to Agence France-Presse, on July 12, local time, the G7 issued a statement saying that each G7 member state will work with Ukraine to determine specific bilateral long-term security arrangements to help Ukraine "obtain sustainable defensive forces now and deter Russian aggression in the future." Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov has said that providing any security guarantees to Ukraine is extremely wrong and very dangerous.
U.S. warns China: Don't be a "spoiler" at G20 summit
The 18th G20 Summit was held in New Delhi on 9-10, the first time India has held a multilateral diplomatic summit of this magnitude. Judging from the preparations for the summit, New Delhi attaches great importance to it and hopes to enhance India's "great power status" by hosting this G20 summit. However, the United States and the West, which often claim to "stand together" with India, riveted their "differences" before the summit, wanting to stuff their own private goods into this important global economic cooperation platform. Some analysts said that this year's G20 in New Delhi may be the most noisy and complicated summit, and may not produce a joint communiqué for the first time in the history of the G20 summit.
India hosts G20 summit
India has set six core topics for the G20 summit, including sustainable development, green development, multilateralism and development bank reform, digital public infrastructure, gender equality and women's leadership. On the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, which the West is most concerned about, many media have noticed that India did not invite the Ukrainian leader to the meeting. It is not difficult to see from this series of arrangements that India wants to focus the discussion on economic recovery and multilateral diplomacy, which has always been the main theme of the G20 platform. The Indian side has repeatedly stated on the G20 that the forum is not a venue for geopolitical competition. Including the "Sino-Indian contradiction" hyped up by the United States and the West, Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar Jaishankar said in the face of media-induced questions, "I will not look at this matter in the way you suggested."
However, this is not the result that the United States and the West want. Since last year's G20 Bali summit, the United States and the West have shown signs of tearing the G20 apart, and this year it has intensified, and there is a great momentum of shorting the G20, and a report in the New York Times provocatively asked: "Does the world still need the G20"? In addition to creating North-South differentiation and East-West antagonism as always, US and Western public opinion has also added at least two new materials to the New Delhi G20. First, it focuses on the BRICS cooperation mechanism after the expansion, and exaggerates the "contradiction" between the two platforms of BRICS and G20; The second is to regard India's hosting of the G20 as an opportunity to hype up the "dragon-elephant dispute" and do everything possible to provoke discord.
According to the news released by the US media, US President Biden is ready to propose a "replacement for China" plan to developing countries at the G20, and the United States and Western countries also blackmail the G20 to condemn Russia by refusing to issue a joint statement. India is the object of the United States and the West trying to woo to confront China, but their behavior does not seem to be praising India, they are completely smashing India's field. At present, the United States and the West are gloating about some geopolitical differences, including China and India, lest the split is not deep enough and that it will not be fought. This unhealthy mentality is the enemy of global cooperation mechanisms, including the G20.
Modi and Biden
The real danger lies in the fact that, on the one hand, global problems and challenges continue unabated, and on the other hand, the sense of urgency and solidarity of the world to overcome difficulties together, as well as the will and ability to deal with global challenges, are weakened by various factors, and people's hearts and minds are scattered throughout the world. Many people have the feeling that it is becoming more and more difficult for countries around the world to reach a consensus, and it is even more difficult to act together. The world has high expectations for the G20, hoping to see some important consensus born in the G20, and some common actions start from here.
It should be emphasized that the G20 mechanism, born in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis, is itself the result of cooperation between advanced and developing economies. As the G20 with two-thirds of the world's population, 85% of the world's economic size and more than 75% of the world's trade volume, there have been many highlight moments, including turning the tide in the 2008 crisis, and the announcement by Chinese and American leaders before the 2016 summit that they will sign the Paris Agreement, etc., these achievements have benefited not only developing countries, but also the United States and Western countries.
However, who frequently "withdrew" after that? Who is overhauling the "small courtyard high wall"? Pushing camp confrontation internationally? And who is engaged in sowing discord and undermining normal cooperation around the world? The adverse current set off by these developments in the international community inevitably affects global cooperation mechanisms, including the G20. Before the summit, Washington inexplicably issued a "warning" to China, urging China not to "play the role of spoiler" at the G20 summit. In this regard, we would like to say that if we compare the United States and China here, this statement is quite accurate.
Last year, the G20 summit hosted by Indonesia adopted the Bali Declaration, achieving hard-won results. We also hope that the G20 summit in New Delhi will be successful without interference, and finally see a joint statement that builds consensus. It is the unshirkable obligation of every G20 member to let the G20 continue to play the platform effect of seeking common ground while reserving differences, seeking common ground and eliminating differences, and mutual benefit and win-win results, and injecting confidence and certainty into the stability of the world economy. Let consensus transcend differences and unite strength through cooperation is not only the expectation of developing countries, but also the long-term interests of the United States and Western countries.