By Tomoyuki Tachikawa,
The Group of 20 economies shied away from condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine in a leaders' declaration released by India on Saturday, the first day of their two-day summit, reflecting divisions among the leaders over the aggression.
As India, which has prioritized maintaining amicable relations with Russia, is the current president of the G-20, diplomatic sources said Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have been unwilling to produce such a document out of consideration for President Vladimir Putin.
Regarding the war in Ukraine, "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," the declaration said.
"The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible," it said, adding, "The peaceful resolution of conflicts, and efforts to address crises as well as diplomacy and dialogue are critical."
In November 2022, a declaration issued after the G-20 summit in Indonesia's Bali said, "Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine," while adding, "There were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions."
On Saturday, Modi said the G-20 leaders agreed to adopt a joint statement for the summit. A Japanese government official told reporters that the G-20 countries struggled to make concessions on the document, particularly concerning the Ukraine crisis.
The agenda covered crucial global issues such as energy and food security, impacted by the war in Ukraine, as well as strategies to boost the world economy, dampened by sharp interest rate hikes in the United States and Europe aimed at curbing high inflation.
"We will protect the vulnerable, through promoting equitable growth and enhancing macroeconomic and financial stability," the latest declaration said.
The United States and other Group of Seven major economies have also been keen to bolster support for sanctions against Russia within the G-20. India and China, the two most populous nations in the world and significant importers of Russian natural resources, have opposed such sanctions.
"We highlighted the human suffering and negative added impacts of the war in Ukraine with regard to global food and energy security, supply chains, macro-financial stability, inflation and growth, which has complicated the policy environment for countries," the document said.
But the declaration added, "There were different views and assessments of the situation," indicating that some G-20 members avoided blaming Russia for the economic and financial instability across the world.
Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping skipped the G-20 meeting, while leaders including U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who hosted the G-7 summit in Hiroshima in May, participated.
Russia sent Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to India's capital of New Delhi on behalf of Putin, whose military is continuing its attacks on Ukraine that began in February 2022.
On Saturday morning, the representatives of the G-20 members entered the summit venue after shaking hands with Modi.
The 21st century is a "time that has the potential to give a new direction to the entire world," Modi said in his opening speech at the summit, adding he formally invited the African Union to join the G-20 as an official permanent member.
Modi has emphasized the importance of consolidating ties with emerging and developing countries in the "Global South," positioning India as a pivotal member within this group.
Many nations in the Global South have been reluctant to implement economic sanctions against Russia because of their dependence on Russia for military supplies and energy resources.
Without Putin and Xi, this year's G-20 summit could be dominated by the United States and its allies, possibly dividing the group between Western democracies and what they label as autocratic countries, political analysts said.
The G-20 has produced a joint statement at every gathering since its inaugural summit in 2008. Failure to map out one this time would have validated skepticism about the framework's ability to find common ground, they said.
At the previous leaders' summit on Indonesia's Bali island, G-20 representatives agreed on a joint declaration at the last minute by incorporating the positions of both the West and Russia about the situation in Ukraine.
In 2023, however, the G-20 fell short of crafting joint statements at several ministerial meetings under India's presidency, sparking fears that the leaders could fail to hammer out a declaration.
Kishida arrived in New Delhi on Friday after attending a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations-related gatherings in Jakarta.
The G-20 summit in India comes as tensions between Tokyo and Beijing have been escalating over Japan's release of treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, which started on Aug. 24, China's import ban on Japanese seafood.
On Wednesday, Kishida held a brief conversation with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Indonesia's capital. It remains uncertain whether the two will hold bilateral talks in New Delhi.
In addition to the G-7 countries -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, plus the European Union -- the G-20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey.
