G20 Summit: Spotlight on India's 'excellent' efforts as Ukraine war draws blank in draft communique

The representatives of G20 nations, right before the leaders' summit in New Delhi, were unable to resolve disagreements over the wording of the final communique on the war in Ukraine as of Friday (Sep 8), according to initial draft of the summit declaration which was circulated among the member nations.

G20 summit: Is there an impasse on G20's overall positioning on Ukraine war?

The current situation is not that of an impasse since the resolution over disagreements on the war in Ukraine could possibly be reached during negotiations between the leaders of G20 nations.

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India is aiming for a balanced G20 statement reflecting Moscow’s concerns on Ukraine while the West, especially the United States, France, United Kingdom, Germany and the European Union, intends to remain "firm and united" in backing Kyiv in the face of Russian offensive.

G20 New Delhi summit communique: 'Geopolitical situation' paragraph left blank

In the 38-page draft that was circulated among member nations, the paragraph related to "geopolitical situation" was left blank.

But the countries have agreed on 75 other paragraphs which included matters such as climate change, cryptocurrencies and reforms in multilateral developments.

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It is not yet clear how exactly the reforms in the principal organs of United Nations, especially the Security Council, find mention in the joint communique of New Delhi G20.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the G-20 leaders summit, had called for reform of the United Nations to match the changing geo-economic realities of the world.

Notably, India, Brazil, Germany and Japan -- who form G4 political cooperative alliance to support each other's bids for permanent seats on the UNSC -- are part of G20 too, and thereby form the bedrock of multilateral consensus to achieve reforms in the West-dominated UN Security Council.

G20 communique: Unanimous agreement required

A diplomat from the European Union was quoted as saying by Reuters that India was doing an "excellent" job as host to bring consensus towards wording of the final statement on paragraph concerning Ukraine war.

"But so far, Russia is blocking a compromise that is acceptable otherwise for everyone else."

According to another senior source in one of the G20 countries, the paragraphs on the war on Ukraine had been agreed by Western countries and was sent to Russia for its views.

The official said Russia had the option to accept the Western countries' views and give its dissent as a part of the statement.

G20 Summit final statement: Consensus on which issues?

The draft document of final statement seen by Reuters showed that the group agreed to address debt vulnerabilities in low and middle-income countries "in an effective, comprehensive and systematic manner".

The draft also accepted the proposal for tighter regulations of cryptocurrencies.

It also agreed that the world needs a total of $4 trillion low-cost financing annually for energy transition.

The retreating monsoon showers brought pleasant chills across the Indian national capital on Saturday morning as businesses, offices and schools were closed as part of security measures to ensure the smooth running of the summit.

New Delhi has been decked up for the gathering with a brand new summit venue, fountains, flowerpots and illumination along major thoroughfares, alongside thousands of armed security personnel standing guard.

Meanwhile, more than 100 Tibetan refugees staged a protest away from the city centre on Friday, demanding that the "occupation" of their country by China be discussed during the summit.

(With inputs from agencies)

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