War in Ukraine main topic of G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting
2023.03.01 05:55
War in Ukraine main topic of G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting
By Kristina Sobol
Budrigannews.com – On the eve of a G20 foreign ministers meeting on Wednesday, the Russian war in Ukraine, which has been going on for a year, took center stage. The head of the European Union’s foreign policy said that the success of the meeting in New Delhi would be measured by what it could do about the war and how it affected people.
Russia said it would use the meeting to tell the world who was to blame for the world’s political and economic problems, according to Moscow.
The G20 finance chiefs’ meeting in Bengaluru, which was also overshadowed by Russia’s war in Ukraine, comes just a few days after the foreign ministers’ meeting.
At the meeting in Bengaluru, delegates disagreed about whether to blame Russia for the war, failed to agree on a joint statement, and settled for a summary document instead.
Josep Borrell, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, told reporters, “This war must be condemned.”
Borrell stated, “I hope, I am sure that India will use its diplomatic capacity to make Russia understand that this war must end.”
Separately, a source from the EU stated that the EU delegation would not support a statement at the G20 meeting unless it included a condemnation of the war.
The remarks came just hours after Russia stated that it views the G20 as an important venue “where balanced consensus decisions should be made in the interests of all humankind.”
In a statement released late on Tuesday, the Russian Embassy in New Delhi stated, “We intend to firmly and openly talk about the reasons and instigators of the current serious problems in global politics and the global economy.”
According to the statement, “The destructive policy of the United States and its allies has already put the world on the brink of a disaster, provoked a rollback in socio-economic development, and seriously aggravated the situation of the poorest countries.”
40 delegations are attending the meeting in New Delhi, including the Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Lavrov met with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Wednesday after arriving late on Tuesday. He will also meet with his South African, Bangladeshi, and Chinese counterparts.
After a welcome dinner on Wednesday, the main G20 meetings will take place on Thursday.
Along with the wealthy G7 nations, Russia, China, India, Brazil, Australia, and Saudi Arabia are also members of the G20.
“Questions relating to food, energy, and fertiliser security, the impact that the conflict has on these economic challenges that we face” would also receive “due focus,” India, the host nation, stated.
The country’s top diplomat, Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, stated that he also expected a clear message regarding terrorism. He stated that the role of cryptocurrencies will be a component of the message.
At the meeting of the foreign ministers, tensions between the United States and China are likely to rise as well.
