G20 Meeting to End Without Communique as Ukraine War Divides Bloc

Due to differences between major powers on the conflict in Ukraine, the two days of discussions between the Group of 20 countries' economic and financial leaders will end on Tuesday without a consensus statement, according to Indian authorities who are hosting the summit.

India anticipates that during its G20 presidency it would be able to advance the debt relief of weaker countries and reach an agreement on reforms for multilateral banks, despite the long-lasting impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on international diplomacy.

"All our agenda has been moving forward and accepted by everyone," an Indian government official, who requested anonymity, said on the last day of talks in the western city of Gandhinagar.

The majority of western countries, including the US, UK, Germany, and France, had pushed for a forceful condemnation of Russia and the conflict in Ukraine, but Russia and its partner China had refused any such action, the official claimed.

The source states that some countries insisted on calling the conflict a war, while Russia refers to its campaign, which is now in its sixteenth month, as a "special military operation," making it challenging for India, the host country, to draft a final statement that would be acceptable to all parties.

India has maintained a largely neutral stance, refusing to blame Russia for the invasion and calling for a diplomatic resolution even as it increases its purchases of cheap oil from that nation.

On Saturday, an Indian official told Reuters that brokering peace between Russia and Ukraine was beyond the remit of the G20 and such efforts would be best undertaken by the United Nations and through bilateral negotiations.

Earlier this week, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that Washington's support for Ukraine was unequivocal and one of its core goals this year was to combat Russia's efforts to evade sanctions.

The gathering in the western state of Gujarat was the G20's third finance track meeting under India's presidency. India has not been able to forge a joint statement in any of the key tracks since it took over the presidency of G20 last December.

Some officials said the acrimony was less than they had seen during the first meetings held in Bengaluru in February, even though countries had remained firm on their stance.

At the close of the Bengaluru meetings, the lack of consensus among the G20 members meant India resorted to issuing a "chair's summary and outcome document" in which it simply summed up the two days of talks and noted disagreements.