NEW DELHI (AP) 鈥� A meeting of finance chiefs and central bank governors of the Group of 20 leading economies ended on Tuesday in India without a consensus because of differences between countries over the war in Ukraine.
Following two days of talks, there was no final communique. Instead, India, as the host nation, was forced to issue the G20 Chair鈥檚 summary and an outcome document.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting concluded in Gandhinagar, a city in the western state of Gujarat, India's finance minister said the reason for the chair statement was 鈥渂ecause we still don鈥檛 have a common language on the Russia Ukraine war鈥�.
Nirmala Sitharaman said that the language describing the war had been drawn directly from last year鈥檚 G20 leaders summit declaration in Indonesia. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have the mandate to change that,鈥� she said, adding that this was something the leaders would have to decide when they gather in the capital, New Delhi, for the main summit in September.
According to the chair summary, China and Russia objected to paragraphs referring to the war which said it was causing 鈥渋mmense human suffering鈥� and 鈥渆xacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy鈥�. The wording was taken from the previous declaration in Indonesia, where leaders had strongly condemned the war.
Similarly in February and March, when India hosted G20 and , objections from Russia and China meant that India had to issue a chair's summary.
Food security was a key priority, Sitharaman said. Members raised Russia's move Monday to that allowed grain to flow from Ukraine via the Black Sea to parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia where high food prices have pushed more people into poverty.
鈥淚t is in that context today that several members condemned it, saying it shouldn鈥檛 have happened. Food passing through the Black Sea shouldn鈥檛 have been stopped or suspended,鈥� she told reporters.
During its presidency of the G20 this year, India has consistently appealed for all members of the fractured grouping to reach consensus on issues of particular concern to poorer countries, like debt distress, inflation and the threat of climate change, even if the broader East-West split over Ukraine can鈥檛 be resolved.
Sitharaman said that members held wide discussions on the overall global economic outlook, paying specific attention to food and energy issues, climate financing and how to improve assistance to debt-distressed countries.
As host, India has used its presidency to promote itself and as the voice of the Global South. Still, the divide over Russia鈥檚 war in Ukraine has cast a shadow over much of the proceedings, with India unable to produce a communique after any of the major meetings since it took over the G20 presidency.
have also loomed as the Kremlin鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine continues despite U.S. and allied countries鈥� efforts to sanction and economically bludgeon Russia鈥檚 economy. India has not taken part in the efforts to punish Russia and maintains its energy ties despite a Group of Seven agreed-upon price cap on Russian oil, which has seen some success in slowing Russia鈥檚 economy.
Meanwhile, Western officials have continued to speak out against Moscow in international groupings. Over the weekend, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, , told reporters that ending the war in Ukraine 鈥渋s first and foremost a moral imperative. But it鈥檚 also the single best thing we can do for the global economy.鈥�
She added the U.S. would continue to cut off Russia鈥檚 access to the military equipment and technologies that it needs to wage war against Ukraine.
Krutika Pathi, The Associated Press
