Indian G-20 negotiators have made some progress on building a consensus, as Russia has dropped its objections on one of the two paragraphs on the war in Ukraine that have been carried over from last year’s Bali Declaration, during the latest Ministerial meetings.
While the two meetings — that of G-20 Labour Ministers held in Indore that ended on July 21, and the G-20 Energy Transition Ministerial in Goa on July 22 failed once again to issue joint communiqués, the footnotes marking Russia’s objections now only relates to one paragraph that is critical of Moscow’s role in the Ukraine war. Russia accepted the second para, which deals more generally with the need to “uphold international law”. However, objections from China and, now, South Africa have raised new worries for the negotiators.
According to the footnote in the Chair’s Summary part of the document released in Goa, Russia “expressed its distinct view on the situation in Ukraine, geopolitical tensions and sanctions during the meeting”, in an indication that while Russia removed objections to one paragraph, the differences in position were debated openly during the Ministerial. The paragraph Russia is now comfortable with includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that “Today’s era is not of war”.
