Ukraine war dominates G20

GBNEWS24DESK//

The Group of 20 nations unanimously adopted a declaration saying most members condemned the war in Ukraine, but the document concluding their summit acknowledged some countries saw the conflict differently.

The leaders of the world’s biggest economies also agreed to pace interest rate rises carefully to avoid spillovers and warned of “increased volatility” in currency moves.

But it was the Ukraine conflict, which started with a Russian invasion in February, that dominated the two-day summit on the Indonesian island of Bali.

As a G20 member, Russia was among the attendees, although President Vladimir Putin did not go himself.

“Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine,” the leaders said in their declaration.

The declaration recognised that “there were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions”, signalling Russia’s rejection of a unanimous condemnation.

The G20 leaders also said in the declaration that the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons was “inadmissible”, alluding to what Western officials have called irresponsible Russian threats of a possible nuclear option since the Ukraine war began. Russia has in turn accused the West of “provocative” nuclear rhetoric.

“It is essential to uphold international law and the multilateral system that safeguards peace and stability,” the declaration added.

French President Emmanuel Macron said G20 leaders also agreed to push Russia towards de-escalation in Ukraine and expressed hope China could play a bigger mediation role in the coming months.

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters that several major economies faced a real risk of sliding into recession as the war in Ukraine, rising food and fuel costs, and soaring inflation cloud the global outlook.

Many participants said Putin’s invasion of Ukraine had pummelled the global economy and revived Cold War-era geopolitical divisions just as the world was emerging from the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday repeated Putin’s line that Nato’s expansion had threatened Russia. “Yes, there is a war going on in Ukraine, a hybrid war that the West has unleashed and been preparing for years,” he said. Lavrov was representing Putin at the summit but left on Tuesday evening. Russia was later represented by Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.

Russia spoke in favour of extending the Black Sea grain deal at the summit as long as more grain was sent to countries in the greatest need, Siluanov told Russia’s state-run RT news channel.

The 19 countries in the G20 together with the European Union account for more than 80% of the world’s gross domestic product, 75% of international trade and 60% of its population.