On Saturday 9 September in New Delhi, the heads of state and government of the G20 countries adopted a declaration in which they refrained from condemning Russia for the war it is waging in Ukraine, preferring to emphasise 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”.
This declaration marks a change of tone compared to the declaration adopted in Bali in 2022, in which the G20 states “deplored” “the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine”.
“There were different views and assessments of the situation”, the New Delhi statement explains; Moscow, represented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, is said to have opposed overt support for Kyiv.
The document states that the G20 “is not the platform to resolve geopolitical and security issues”, but recognises that conflicts can “have significant consequences for the global economy”.
“We call on all states to uphold the principles of international law including territorial integrity and sovereignty, international humanitarian law, and the multilateral system that safeguards peace and stability. [...] We will unite in our endeavour to address the adverse impact of the war on the global economy and welcome all relevant and constructive initiatives that support a comprehensive, just, and durable peace in Ukraine”, the G20 members state.
For his part, Mr Lavrov described the G20 summit, at which the leaders refused to explicitly condemn Russia, as a “success”.
“Discussions are not always straightforward, and sometimes we have to bring together different voices and listen to everyone’s perspective in order to produce a result that allows us to move forward”, a European Commission official summed up, cautiously.
For Kyiv, on the other hand, the position of the G20 members is not acceptable. “Ukraine is grateful to its partners who tried to include strong language in the text. At the same time, the G20 has nothing to be proud of when it comes to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine”, declared Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko on X (formerly Twitter).
Ankara’s efforts on food security welcomed
The G20 leaders also welcomed Turkey’s efforts and the Istanbul agreements negotiated by the United Nations, which include the Memorandum of Understanding between the Russian Federation and the Secretariat of the United Nations on promoting Russian food products and fertilizers to the world markets and the Initiative on the Safe Transportation of Grain and Foodstuffs from Ukrainian Ports (Black Sea Initiative), (see EUROPE 13244/15).
They called for their swift, full and effective implementation to ensure immediate and unimpeded deliveries of grain, foodstuffs and fertilisers or inputs from Russia and Ukraine.
“This is necessary to meet the demand in developing and least developed countries, particularly those in Africa”, the statement said.
Furthermore, on Sunday 10 September, the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, called for Russia not to be marginalised in talks to relaunch the agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea. “No process that marginalises Russia in the Black Sea cereals initiative will be viable”, he declared, announcing the organisation of a forthcoming meeting on the subject with Russian, Ukrainian and UN representatives, without specifying a date or venue.
Negotiated under the aegis of Ankara and the UN in the summer of 2022, this agreement aimed to secure Kyiv’s cereal exports via Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea.
To see the G20 declaration, go to https://aeur.eu/f/8hy (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur & Thomas Mangin)