G20 leaders publish joint declaration without direct criticism of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Leaders of the G20 countries have published a joint declaration at the summit hosted by India on Saturday. The document does not contain any direct condemnation of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“We highlighted the human suffering and negative added impacts of the war in Ukraine with regard to global food and energy security, supply chains, macro-financial stability, inflation and growth,” the declaration reads. “All states must refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state.”

The G20 also called for implementation of all conditions outlined in the grain deal, an agreement that unlocked Ukrainian grain exports via its Black Sea ports. The document also stresses that “the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible”.

The Financial Times wrote on Saturday that the G20 declaration represents “a blow” to the Western countries who spent the past year trying to persuade developing countries to condemn Moscow and back Ukraine.

The newspaper noted that the 2022 G20 declaration mentioned Russia’s “aggression” against Ukraine, while this formula is completely absent from the 2023 document. Western diplomats believe that China’s refusal to reiterate this statement played the decisive role that pushed India, the host country, to propose this compromise.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also condemned this decision.

“Ukraine is grateful to its partners who tried to include strong wordings in the document. At the same time, the G20 has nothing to be proud about in the part about Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. It is clear that Ukraine’s participation would help participants to understand the situation better,” ministry spokesperson Oleh Mykolenko said.