G20 Joint Declaration Indirectly Mentions Russia-Ukraine War
Ukraine Regrets Tone Adjustment in Joint Declaration
Prime Minister Modi: "Let's Review Policies and Goals Through Virtual Meeting"
The Group of Twenty (G20) summit concluded after a two-day schedule. Although there were disagreements among countries regarding the Russia-Ukraine war, a compromise was reached through mediation by India and Brazil, and the related content was included in the joint declaration.
While the United States and other Western countries, as well as Russia, gave positive evaluations of this, Ukraine criticized it. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, the chair country of this year’s G20, requested to review the policies and progress of goals from this summit through a virtual meeting in November.
The G20 leaders held the summit in New Delhi, India, for two days starting on the 9th (local time) and then concluded the event. On the first day of the meeting, discussions were held under the themes of "One Earth" and "One Family," followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Park, honoring the father of India’s nationhood, and then continued discussions under the theme "One Future" in the final session.
Prime Minister Modi handed over the chairmanship to Brazil, the next chair country, during the final session. He also urged the G20 leaders to review the policy proposals and progress of goals from the summit through a virtual meeting in November. He emphasized, "It is our responsibility to understand how the proposals presented (at this summit) are progressing."
According to AFP, President Luiz In?cio Lula da Silva said in his speech, "Geopolitical issues should not divert the G20 agenda," adding, "We are not interested in a divided G20. We want peace and cooperation instead of conflict." This remark was aimed at the confrontation over how to reflect the mentions made by Western countries including the United States, and Russia and China, regarding the Russia-Ukraine war in the joint declaration at this New Delhi summit.
The joint declaration included a demand for "a just and lasting peace in Ukraine" rather than direct references to the Russia-Ukraine war. It also contained expressions that all member countries must comply with the UN Charter and refrain from the threat or use of force to pursue territorial acquisition against the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and political independence of any country. It is reported that India and Brazil worked hard to mediate so that such content could be included.
The West and Russia gave positive evaluations of this. The United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany emphasized that the very inclusion of the Ukraine issue in the joint declaration was an achievement. Russia positively evaluated the absence of content directly criticizing itself. Ukraine, however, opposed this. Oleg Nikolenko, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, criticized on Facebook that day, saying, "There is nothing for the G20 to be proud of regarding the Russian invasion."
Meanwhile, on the first day of the summit, the African Union (AU), representing 1.4 billion people, was decided to join the G20. The G20 now has a second regional organization member after the European Union (EU). Although concerns arose about the event’s progress due to the absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping at this summit, unexpectedly, a joint declaration was produced, yielding results. Some evaluate that Prime Minister Modi is the ultimate beneficiary of this summit’s joint declaration.
The next G20 summit is scheduled to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, next year.
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