Finance G20 concludes without joint statement due to disagreements over Ukraine

The meeting of finance ministers and central bankers of the G20 of developed and emerging powers concluded this Saturday in India without issuing a joint statement, due to disagreements with China over the war in Ukraine.

The G20 Finance had started its conclave on Friday in Bangalore, the technological capital of India, to coordinate its responses to the main global economic challenges, exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the triggering of the inflation.

India, which chaired the proceedings, released a “summary” of the discussions and the reasons why they could not lead to a joint statement.

“Most of the members [del G20] strongly condemned the war in Ukraine”, with “different assessments of the situation and of the sanctions” imposed on Russia since the start of the invasion of Ukrainenotes the Indian document.

A footnote states that two paragraphs of the draft declaration related to the Ukraine war were “approved by all member countries, with the exception of Russia and China.”

Differences over Ukraine had already made themselves felt at the previous G20 meeting last November in Bali (Indonesia).

Discussions are more difficult than in previous meetings [del G20 Finanzas]because the war continues”, commented the Spanish Minister of Economy, Nadia Calviño.

Because of this, “some positions are less constructive on some issues,” he added, without specifying the target of his allusions.

“A war”

Several officials linked to the negotiations, who requested anonymity, told AFP that China tried to tone down the terms referring to the situation in Ukraine.

According to one such source, “China refuses to condemn the war in Ukraine.”

Discussions to find a term that suits everyone lasted until early Saturday morning, revealed another official. But no results.

China has always refrained from publicly supporting or condemning the Russian offensive, although it has repeatedly expressed its disagreement with Western sanctions.

The Russian government accused Western countries of having “destabilized” the meeting by trying to “blackmail” a joint statement on the Ukraine conflict.

The United States, the European Union and the G7 “disturbed collective decision-making,” said the Russian Ministry of External relationships it’s a statement.

On Friday, one year after the start of the conflict, China presented a 12-point document urging the two sides to start peace talks.

Germany and France defended the use of the word “war” on Friday.

In Ukraine, “it is a war. And this war has a cause, a single cause, which is Russia and [el presidente ruso] Vladimir Putin,” said German Finance Minister Christian Lindner.

“We will oppose any setback in the joint declaration, regarding the Bali declaration on Ukraine,” also warned the French Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire.

The final declaration from Bali indicated that “the majority of members [del G20] They condemned the war in Ukraine.”

Reforms and debts

India’s G20 Finance also held talks on the indebtedness of the world’s poorest countries.

In 2020, the group had agreed to define a “common framework” to restructure those debts, but the process is slow.

In Bangalore the issue of a reform of the international financial institutions was also addressed.

He world Bank had presented a roadmap on the matter in October.

This reform should make it easier to obtain funds for the poorest countries to deal with inflation, debt or the climate change.