19:45 02.03.2023

G20 talks end in India with no consensus on Ukraine war – media

2 min read
G20 talks end in India with no consensus on Ukraine war – media

Top diplomats from the Group of 20 (G20) industrialized and developing nations ended their contentious meeting in New Delhi on Thursday with no consensus on the Ukraine war, India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said, as discussions of the war and China's widening global influence dominated much of the talks, according to Associated Press.

He said there were "divergences" on the issue of the war in Ukraine "which we could not reconcile as various parties held differing views."

"If we had a perfect meeting of minds on all issues, it would have been a collective statement," Jaishankar said.

He added that members agreed on most issues involving the concerns of less-developed nations, "like strengthening multilateralism, promoting food and energy security, climate change, gender issues and counterterrorism."

Host India had appealed for all members of the fractured Group of 20 to reach a consensus on issues of particular concern to poorer countries even if the broader East-West split over Ukraine could not be resolved. And while others, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, chose to highlight their roles in addressing world crises, the divide was palpable.

Blinken spent much of his time describing U.S. efforts to bolster energy and food security. But he also told the ministers pointedly that Russia's war with Ukraine could not go unchallenged.

"Unfortunately, this meeting has again been marred by Russia's unprovoked and unjustified war against Ukraine, deliberate campaign of destruction against civilian targets, and its attack on the core principles of the U.N. Charter. […] We must continue to call on Russia to end its war of aggression and withdraw from Ukraine for the sake of international peace and economic stability," he said.

Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov talked briefly Thursday in the first high-level meeting in months between the two countries. U.S. officials said Blinken and Lavrov chatted for roughly 10 minutes on the sidelines of the G20 conference.

"As at most international events since last year, the split over the war in Ukraine and its impact on global energy and food security overshadowed the proceedings. But as the conflict drags on past 12 months, the divide has grown and now threatens to become a principal irritant in U.S.-China ties that were already on the rocks for other reasons," the agency said.

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