Russia joins US in praising India for its stance on war in Ukraine, G20 Joint Declaration

As the leaders of the G20 adopted the joint communique in the Summit, Russia on Sunday, September 10 lauded India for its 'neutral' language and its stance on the ongoing war in Ukraine. Unlike the Declaration that was adopted at the 2022 G20 Summit in Indonesia's Bali, the communique that was signed in India, New Delhi, urged "all the states" to act in a manner which is consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter in its entirety to ensure “comprehensive, just, and durable peace in Ukraine”.

The declaration urged the countries "not to use force to grab territory." It used the language of the UN bodies, outlining that "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." It, however, decried the economic toll of the war on Ukraine. The latter dismissed the communique stating that it is "nothing to be proud of" as it denounced the use of force on its territory by Russia. 

“Ukraine is grateful to the partners who tried to include strong wording in the text,” Oleg Nikolenko, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry was reported saying. “At the same time, in terms of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the Group of 20 has nothing to be proud of.”

'Most difficult G20 summits in almost twenty-year'

Moscow praised the language of the document, stating that the bloc’s leaders acted in the interest of conflict resolution as the G20 deliberations here in India entered the second day with a host of bilateral meetings lined up for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "There were very difficult negotiations on the Ukraine issue," Svetlana Lukash, the Russian G20 sherpa, or government negotiator, was quoted as saying by Russian affiliated news agency Interfax."First of all, the collective position of the BRICS countries and partners worked, everything was reflected in a balanced form," he added. 

"This was one of the most difficult G20 summits in the almost twenty-year history of the forum ... it took almost 20 days to agree on the declaration before the summit and five days here on the spot," Lukash said.

"This was not only due to some disagreements on the Ukraine subject, but also due to differences in positions on all key issues, primarily the issues of climate change and the transition to low-carbon energy systems," he went on to add. 

US President Joe Biden said that the G20 grouping of the world's top economies "can still offer solutions to global issues."  "At a moment when the global economy is suffering from the overlapping shocks of the climate crisis, fragility and conflict, this year’s summit proved that the G20 can still drive solutions to our most pressing issues," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter) shortly before he left for Vietnam. 

European Union official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, reportedly hailed India's strong leadership. The negotiations on the G20 leaders' declaration, she said, went on until the last moment and the Ukraine war was the most contentious issue before a consensus was reached by the G20 leaders. BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and other partners largely contributed to the “balanced” declaration.