The historic G20 summit in New Delhi has been successfully concluded
India’s strong leadership has allowed G20 leaders to reach consensus in intensive discussions on a message from the summit calling on countries to avoid the use of force in territorial disputes, a senior European Union official said Sunday.
Weeks before the meeting in New Delhi, the bloc struggled to agree on a reference to the Ukrainian conflict, with the West pushing for Moscow to be called out for its invasion, while Russia vowed to block any resolution that would not reflect its views .
“(The) Indian presidency has been very strong and after intense negotiations, the unanimous outcome was quite productive,” said the official, who was aware of the G20 talks but sought anonymity.
“Without India’s leadership, this would not have been possible,” he added, referring to the summit statement.
The statement adopted Saturday by the Group of 20 as it began its two-day summit avoided condemning Russia for the war in Ukraine but urged all states not to use force to seize territory.
The bloc’s leaders also called for the implementation of the Black Sea Initiative for the safe flow of grain, food and fertilizers from Ukraine and Russia.
However, the EU official said there was no word on the Black Sea grains deal with Russia, which finds itself more isolated after the summit.
“Russia should have participated, while President Putin sat at the table and listened to the criticism of European and global leaders,” the official said, adding: “But he chose not to come and participate.”
The official said: “The leadership of the European Union put forward the points very strongly during the session. You have to build an international consensus around it,” referring to the conflict in Ukraine.
