Countries like Brazil and Russia have floated several formulas for referencing the conflict in the leaders' proclamation to be approved at the G20 Summit, from suspending discussions on the Ukraine crisis to requests for incorporating references to the supply of armaments by Nato states to Kyiv.
Negotiators are working diligently to come up with a compromise formulation that will be acceptable to all member states in time for the summit that will be held in New Delhi on September 9-10. Disagreements over text to refer to the Ukraine war have held up consensus outcome documents at all G20 ministerial meetings hosted thus far by India.
According to the people, who asked to remain anonymous, Brazil, which will host the G20 Summit in 2024, proposed a formula where the reference to Ukraine would be frozen in the context of the leaders' declaration adopted at the 2022 summit in Indonesia, which stated that the matter was discussed but there were disagreements among members. This would allow the grouping to move on. They stated that there was little support for this argument.
Despite the fact that Russia has distanced itself from all mentions of Ukraine in documents released following G20 ministerial meetings, a member of the Russian negotiating team said, speaking on the condition of anonymity, that Moscow will be amenable to the inclusion of the issue in the draught leaders' declaration, provided mentions are made of things like the US and its allies' prior wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the supply of weapons to Ukraine by Nato states.
Another Russian source, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, called the mention of Ukraine in the G20 leaders' Bali declaration a "one-off." "This was a compromise, and the situation on the ground has changed," the official continued.
According to the sources, China has maintained its stance that the G20 is not the appropriate place for discussing security matters and has opposed the inclusion of any "geopolitical content" in result agreements. However, this is the exact reverse of the stance adopted by the G7, which maintains that the G20 declaration must take into account the Ukraine crisis and its effects on the global economy, particularly on food and energy security.
The third G20 sherpas conference was held in Hampi, Karnataka, and was attended by Christina Segal-Knowles, the US sous sherpa or deputy head of the delegation. "The war in Ukraine is certainly a major issue that's affecting the global economy," Segal-Knowles remarked. "For the G20 to continue to be a credible institution, we need to be able to talk about that."
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