Why did the West agree to remove “condemnation of Russian aggression against Ukraine” from the G20 report?

The newspaper reportedFinancial TimesBritish officials attending the G20 summit in India said in a final statement that talks on the Ukrainian crisis “needed until midnight on Friday before a compromise could be reached”.

The newspaper said, “After 5 days of difficult discussions, Western delegations agreed to the deal, described by some observers as a blatant concession.”

The United States agreed with the European Union and other Western allies to remove Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “condemnation of war” against Ukraine from the summit statement in exchange for pledges by all G20 nations, including Russia and China, to “respect Ukraine’s borders.” Honesty, and work towards a fair settlement.

“This settlement is a major setback,” said Sarang Sidor, director of the Global South Program at the Quincy Institute.

According to experts, “Despite the absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the summit, the willingness of Western allies to reach a solution highlights the level of their interest in preserving the credibility of the gathering, which has come under severe pressure since Kremlin forces invaded Ukraine 18 months ago.”

A senior EU official said: “If we’re going to write the text, that’s a completely different matter. It’s a global consensus-building process, so if there’s a solution, we’ll do it.”

In the same vein, US Deputy National Security Adviser John Weiner said, “The world’s major economies, including Brazil, India and South Africa, are united in the need to uphold international law and Russia’s need to respect international law.”

Russia’s chief negotiator hailed the statement – which also calls for a return to the Black Sea grain deal Moscow withdrew from – as “balanced”.

However, Ukraine on Saturday condemned the change in rhetoric, describing it as “nothing to be proud of”.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko posted a photo of the joint declaration on Ukraine, with several parts of the text redacted with red crosses and words reflecting Kiev’s position of “victim of unprovoked Russian aggression”.

“It is clear that the participation of the Ukrainian side in the G20 meeting would have allowed the participants to better understand the situation,” Nikolenko wrote on Facebook.

Despite his disappointment with the G20 declaration in general, Nikolenko thanked Ukraine’s allies “for their role in pushing Kiev’s position on the report.”

“Ukraine thanks the partners who tried to include strong formulations in the text,” he added.

Surprised by Modi

According to experts and observers, after conceding that “they cannot force Putin alone to back down from the invasion,” the “New Delhi Declaration” “represents a far-reaching effort by Washington, the European Union and other Western capitals to create a common ground with the world’s most powerful developing economies.”

The report is an unexpected victory for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is gearing up for parliamentary elections next year.

Analysts explained, “Modi’s decision to turn the rotating chairmanship of the G20 into a year-long platform to promote India’s culture, achieve foreign political goals and position his country as a leader of the so-called developing countries of the South has borne fruit,” according to the newspaper.

Sheetur said: “It is clear that Washington has gone the extra mile to ensure that its rich and close ally, India, is not embarrassed. Had the US insisted on condemning Putin, this would have been the first G20 summit without a joint declaration.”

Since India assumed the G20 presidency in December, working groups comprising central bank governors and ministers from education, health, tourism and other sectors have been trying to break the deadlock in reaching a joint declaration for this weekend’s leaders’ summit. Last November, Indonesia condemned Russian “aggression” against Ukraine.

Western diplomats expressed their desire to reach a compromise on “dropping references to Russian ‘aggression’, an agreement by China and others to stop attacks on infrastructure, a return to the ‘grains in the Black Sea’ initiative, and the preservation of regional integrity.”

“This settlement shows the great ability of both the Prime Minister and India to bring together all developing countries, all emerging markets, all developed countries, China and Russia to reach a consensus,” Amitabh Kant, India’s chief negotiator at the G20, told a news release. Conference on Sunday.

“All 83 paragraphs of the Joint Declaration were accepted 100 percent, including 8 paragraphs on geopolitical issues,” Kant warned.

India managed to “secure the African Union’s accession to the G20, with a commitment to multilateral banking reform, progress in regulating cryptocurrencies and debt restructuring of highly indebted countries”.

For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron tried to downplay the resolution in the report, saying the G20 was “not an arena for political discussions”.

“We are here to talk mainly about economic issues and climate change,” Macron added to reporters after the summit.

He added: “We disagree on the Ukraine crisis, and Russia is a member of the G20. However, this is not the main place where this problem is resolved.”

On the other hand, other Western representatives insisted that “a written settlement would support their countries’ efforts to persuade developing countries to pressure Moscow to end the war.”

A senior EU official said: “This is not the end of the debate. But it is another starting point in the right direction,” the British newspaper reported.