Africa
THE G20 group of leading world economies adopted a joint summit declaration on Wednesday that includes sharp language on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
At the end of a two-day meeting on the Indonesian island of Bali, the declaration was adopted by all G20 states, including Russia despite the great differences.
“Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine,” the text says, despite initial resistance from Moscow to such a reference.
“There were other views and different assessments of the situation,” the joint declaration further notes.
The text describes Russia’s attack on its neighbour as a war and not as a “special military operation,” as Russian President Vladimir Putin had wanted.
Moscow was represented at the summit by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. He had already left on Tuesday, hours before the final declaration was adopted.
Ahead of the summit, negotiators were unsure whether the group of developing and developed nations would manage to agree on a joint declaration, given its deep divisions on the war in Ukraine.
The declaration makes reference to a UN resolution from March that demanded Russia’s “complete and unconditional withdrawal” from Ukraine.
The G20 leaders also issued a clear warning on nuclear warfare.
“The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible,’’ their joint declaration says.
Russia’s recent annexation of four Ukrainian regions has raised concerns that Putin could deploy nuclear weapons.
Western states were less successful, however, in reaching a strong common language on energy security, which is threatened in Europe in particular due to a drastic reduction in Russian oil and gas deliveries.
The G20 leaders said they are “deeply concerned” about global food security and support the continuation of a grain export deal aimed at securing deliveries from Ukraine.
They pledged to boost their efforts on climate change, with the G20 responsible for 80 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions.
The G20 members are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Britain, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, and the United States as well as the European Union. (dpa/NAN)
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Tags: Sergei Lavrov Vladimir Putin
