G20 Finance Ministers' Meeting, Ukraine War Joint Statement Ends Empty-Handed

The first meeting of the year for the Group of Twenty (G20) finance ministers and central bank governors is expected to end without any achievements, as they failed to reach an agreement regarding the Ukraine war, according to major foreign media reports citing delegations on the 24th (local time).

According to foreign media, differences have emerged between major Western countries and other nations such as India, the G20 chair, over whether to refer to the Ukraine situation as a 'war,' making it unlikely that a joint statement will be issued.

Delegations from France and Germany are insisting that the term 'war' related to Ukraine must be mentioned.

Bruno Le Maire, France’s Minister of Economy and Finance, said on the first day of the meeting, the previous day, "We must not backtrack from last year’s G20 summit declaration regarding the war in Ukraine," and stated that if the same wording is not used, he will not sign the final joint statement.

Christian Lindner, Germany’s Finance Minister, also emphasized, "This is a war, and it must be clearly expressed in this meeting."

He added that if the joint statement is weaker than last year’s G20 summit declaration, Germany cannot accept it.

Excluding Russian President Vladimir Putin, G20 leaders adopted a joint declaration at the November meeting in Bali, Indonesia, stating that "most member countries strongly condemn the war in Ukraine in the strongest terms."

In this atmosphere, Janet Yellen, U.S. Treasury Secretary, also criticized the Russian delegation at the meeting the previous day, saying the Ukraine war is illegal and unjust. Russia sent a deputy minister-level delegation to this meeting.

While representatives from Western countries insist on strongly condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, some countries including India are reportedly opposed to this.

In particular, India is said to be advocating that the Ukraine situation be referred to with words like 'crisis' or 'challenge' instead of 'war' in the joint statement. This stance is seen as considering Russia’s position, which defines the Ukraine invasion as a 'special military operation' rather than a 'war.'

India is a member of the Quad, a U.S.-led security consultation group aimed at countering China, but at the same time has maintained a deep friendly relationship with Russia.

Despite Western concerns last year, India significantly increased imports of Russian crude oil and abstained from voting on the United Nations General Assembly resolution on the 23rd demanding Russia’s withdrawal from Ukraine.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also made no mention of the Ukraine war, which marked its first anniversary, in his virtual speech at the opening ceremony of the meeting the previous day.

As disagreements among member countries over the Ukraine war deepen, other issues such as debt restructuring for developing countries and cryptocurrency regulation have been pushed aside, leading to predictions that this meeting may effectively close 'empty-handed.'

AFP reported that due to the clear deadlock among member countries, it is increasingly likely that no joint statement will be issued at the meeting closing today.

Regarding this, Jeremy Hunt, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, said that if global security threats are not resolved, there will be no progress on other major issues such as the climate crisis and debt relief for poor countries.

The meeting is being held in three sessions, each covering international financial systems, financial regulation, and international taxation.

This year’s G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meetings are also scheduled to be held in Washington DC, USA in April, Gujarat, India in July, and Marrakesh, Morocco in October.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]