G20 delegates reach compromise on declaration as leaders begin summit

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Delegates from the world’s most powerful countries have reached a compromise on language to describe the war in Ukraine, a source with knowledge of the discussions said, as their leaders began the annual G20 summit. on Saturday in New Delhi. Delhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi of host India opened the meeting by calling on members to end a “global trust deficit” and announced that the bloc would grant permanent membership to the African Union in an effort to make it more representative.

“Today, as G20 President, India calls on the entire world to first convert this global trust deficit into confidence,” he said. “It’s time for us all to move forward together.”

The group is deeply divided over the war in Ukraine, with Western nations pushing for strong condemnation of Russia, while others are demanding a focus on broader economic issues.

The Sherpas, or representatives of the country, have reached a compromise on the language that will be used in the final statement, which will be presented to the leaders, said the source with knowledge of the negotiations.

No details were immediately available, but it could be similar to the language of the statement issued in Indonesia at the 2022 summit, which noted that while most nations condemned Russia for the invasion, there were also divergent opinions.

At the start of the day, U.S. President Joe Biden and other Group of 20 leaders were led through deserted streets to a new $300 million shell-shaped convention center called Bharat Mandapam, in front of a century-old stone fort. XVI, for the two one-day Summit.

Many businesses, shops, offices and schools have been closed in the city of 20 million inhabitants and traffic restricted as part of security measures to ensure the smooth running of the highest-level meeting to be held in the country. Slums have been demolished and monkeys and lost dogs removed from the streets.

According to an earlier draft of the summit declaration reviewed by Reuters, negotiators were unable to resolve disagreements over wording on the war in Ukraine, leaving leaders to reach a compromise if possible.

The 38-page draft circulated among members left the “geopolitical situation” paragraph blank, while it had agreed on another 75 paragraphs covering a variety of issues.

Biden will push for major countries at the summit to take a higher level of climate action, a White House official said, as concerns grow about the lack of consensus on emissions reductions.

G20 nations account for 80% of global emissions and their views are being closely watched ahead of the COP 28 meeting in the United Arab Emirates.

Modi, in his opening remarks at the summit, invited the AU, represented by President Azali Assoumani, to take a seat at the table of G20 leaders as a permanent member.

The summit is expected to be dominated by the West and its allies. Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend the meeting and sent Premier Li Qiang in his place, while Russia’s Vladimir Putin will also be absent.

Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Saudi Mohammed Bin Salman and Japanese Fumio Kishida, among others, attend.

The summit had been seen as offering a venue for a possible meeting between Xi and Biden after months of efforts by the two world powers to repair ties frayed by trade and geopolitical tensions.

“It is up to the Chinese government to explain” why its leader “would or would not participate,” Jon Finer, US deputy national security adviser, told reporters in Delhi.

He said there is speculation that China is “quitting the G20” in favor of groups like BRICS, where it is dominant.

The BRICS include Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and have agreed add another six new members – Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates – in a move aimed at accelerating his push to reorganize a world order he considers obsolete.

FIGHT FOR THE LANGUAGE

G20 sherpas, or country negotiators, have been struggling to reach an agreement on language due to differences over the Ukraine war, in the hope that Russia will join in crafting what is called the Leaders’ Declaration. .

Russia is represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who has said that block final statement unless it reflects Moscow’s position on Ukraine and other crises.

A source told Reuters that a joint statement may or may not reach unanimous agreement. It could have different paragraphs setting out the views of different countries. Or you could record the agreement and disagreement in a paragraph.

According to another important source from one of the G20 countries, the paragraph on the war against Ukraine had been agreed upon by Western countries and sent to Russia for its opinion.

The official said Russia had the option of accepting the views of Western countries and expressing its disagreement as part of the statement.

In the absence of a deal, India will have to issue a presidential statement, which would mean the G20, for the first time in 20 years of summits, will not have a statement.

A Leaders’ Declaration “is by far the best way to record what has been agreed, so that countries can be held accountable to external parties in the future and so that government systems know what their leaders have committed to and what need.” do internally,” said Creon Butler, director of the global finance and economics program at Chatham House in London.

Differing views on the war have prevented agreement on even a single statement at ministerial meetings during India’s G20 presidency so far this year.

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