Indonesia Actively Mediates to Adopt the 'Bali Declaration'
Final Approval Uncertain... Group Photo May Not Be Taken
[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] At the G20 Summit held in Bali, Indonesia, a standoff continues between the West, including the United States, and Russia and China over whether the issue of the Ukraine war will be included in the joint communiqu?. As Indonesia, the host country of this summit, actively mediates and proposes a compromise, there is also a possibility that the joint communiqu? itself may not be finally approved.
On the 15th, Bloomberg News reported that the draft of the G20 Summit joint communiqu?, known as the 'Bali Declaration,' which it obtained independently, includes the issue of the Ukraine war. Citing G20 officials, Bloomberg stated, "The current draft of the Bali Declaration contains neutral expressions that all G20 member countries can approve without objection," adding, "For example, the phrase 'Russia's invasion of Ukraine' is expressed as 'Ukraine war.'"
The draft also includes concerns about the possibility of nuclear war. According to major foreign media, part of the G20 joint communiqu? draft contains statements such as "The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is unacceptable. Peaceful resolution of conflicts, crisis resolution efforts, diplomacy, and dialogue are important. Today's era must not become a time of war."
The United States and European countries sought to directly include condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in the joint communiqu?, but due to strong opposition from Russia and China, the joint communiqu? itself faced the risk of collapse, leading to the proposal of a mediation plan. In particular, Indonesia, the host country, is known to be actively mediating.
At the G20 ministerial meeting held prior to the summit, discussions on the joint communiqu? were disrupted as the West blamed Russia's invasion of Ukraine for global inflation issues, while Russia countered that sanctions against it were the cause, resulting in mutual accusations and the breakdown of the communiqu? talks.
Along with the Ukraine war, there are also deep disagreements on the major agenda of economic cooperation at this G20, making it difficult to produce concrete cooperation plans. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) forecasted, "Due to discord among G20 members, efforts to rescue the global economy from recession are likely to be thwarted."
There have also been predictions that the leaders, already divided into two camps over the Russia issue, might refuse to take a group photo. According to CNN, major leaders attending the G20 meeting are concerned that it will be difficult to take a group photo as they do not want to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Russian delegation. At this G20 meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attended in place of President Vladimir Putin as Russia's representative.
Some even suggest that this G20 summit could be the last one. The U.S. political media outlet Politico reported, "After Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, the G8 summit, led by the U.S., expelled Russia and transitioned to the G7. There are growing voices to exclude Russia from the G20 in the future and change it to the G19."
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