Usually, the final document of a summit is already being worked on before the meeting begins. Western diplomats report that Russia could agree to condemn the Ukraine war in the G20 statement. It is suspected that a lack of support from China plays a role.
Russia is apparently ready to accept the inclusion of a passage condemning the war against Ukraine in the final declaration of the G20 summit. According to a Western diplomat, the Russian attack is clearly described as a war and not as a special military operation, as Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin normally does. Russia’s approval of the draft text is seen as a possible sign that Moscow can no longer even count on the support of its powerful partner China when it comes to Ukraine in the G20 group.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had previously indicated that Russia would make concessions. Putin’s representative at the summit said in a video from his ministry that the final declaration would be accepted. “This year we also experienced the war in Ukraine, which further affected the global economy,” says the draft, which the chief negotiators of the Group of Large Economic Nations (G20) agreed on.
According to the evening’s report, Russia also accepted that the final declaration quoted from a United Nations resolution on the war. In this, the war is sharply condemned and Russia is asked to withdraw its troops. Putin’s chief negotiator is also said to have agreed that the use of nuclear weapons should be described as inadmissible in the final declaration. So far, however, Russia has not officially commented on the wording in the final declaration.
The two-day G20 summit in Bali officially begins tomorrow, Tuesday. In addition to the EU, the countries Germany, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, France, Great Britain, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey and the USA are represented.
