The russian invasion was one of the key topics at the G20 summit, but some of the statements made by world leaders caused outrage, including in Ukraine. Find out what the heads of state discussed and what conclusions they reached about the war

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The eighteenth meeting of the heads of state of the Group of Twenty (G20) is being held on September 9 and 10, 2023 in India, in the city of New Delhi. Despite the fact that the Indian authorities said that they consider the "Twenty" as an international platform for discussing economic issues, the topic of russia's war against Ukraine was a key topic at the summit.

What was discussed and what agreements were reached? Let's talk further.

Which countries are participating in the G20 summit?

Traditionally, the leaders of the G20 countries - the most economically developed countries in the world - were invited to the summit: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Canada, China, Great Britain, Mexico, Russia, the USA, Turkey, France, South Korea, South Africa, Japan, Saudi Arabia and the European Union.

This year, as last year, the President of the russian federation, vladimir putin, refused to participate in the meeting, russia was represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov. Also, for the first time, Chinese President Xi Jinping missed the meeting - the Chinese delegation was headed by Prime Minister Li Qiang.

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, was not invited to the summit, although Western countries demanded it from India. The leadership of India justified the refusal to invite Ukraine by the fact that it is an economic, not a military event. We will remind you that at last year's meeting held in Bali, Volodymyr Oleksandrovych addressed the participants of the summit.

The renewal of the grain agreement is the most controversial issue of the summit

World leaders devoted most of their time to discussing the issue of restoring the "grain agreement", from which the russian federation withdrew in July of this year. After all, Ukraine's inability to export its own grain has endangered food security throughout the world. However, according to the final declaration of the G20 summit, it is clear that no agreement has yet been reached.

According to the media, the issue of restoring the "grain agreement" is being actively taken care of by the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who, together with the UN, has already acted as a mediator in this agreement. For this, he calls on the leaders of the twenty to satisfy some of the demands of the russian federation.

At the same time, as an alternative to the "grain agreement", Ukraine is negotiating with Romania and Bulgaria about a sea route for the export of grain, which would pass from Ukrainian ports through Romanian territorial waters. However, this route can potentially cover only part of the needs.

  What is Turkey asking world leaders at the G20 summit?

Bloomberg, citing three Turkish officials, writes that Turkey is asking world leaders to facilitate the insurance of russian food and fertilizer exports by the London bank Lloyd's and to reconnect moscow to the SWIFT system for international payments.

That is, Turkey is trying to convey to its partners that the renewal of the agreement is possible only if the sanctions that prevent russia from importing agricultural equipment, such as tractors and spare parts for them, are relaxed.

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What did the G20 participants agree on?

The G20 has already adopted the final declaration, but the part regarding russia's aggression against Ukraine lacks strong wording and effective steps:

1. We call on all states to observe the principles of international law, respect territorial integrity and sovereignty, international humanitarian law, etc.

2. Peaceful conflict resolution, diplomacy and dialogue are crucial.

3. We will welcome all constructive initiatives aimed at supporting a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine, which will meet all the goals and principles of the UN Charter.

4. With regard to the "grain agreement" - the G20 leaders call for "full, timely and effective implementation of the agreement to ensure immediate and unimpeded supplies of grain, food and fertilizer materials from the russian federation and Ukraine."

5. The representatives oppose the use of nuclear weapons and related threats.

6. Participants condemned the use of force to obtain new territories.

7. The G20 also condemns any attack on infrastructure.

The group of twenty also recognized the difference in views and assessments of the situation in Ukraine among community members.

Comments of world leaders regarding the results of the summit

Indian Foreign Minister Subramanyam Jaishankar said that "the chapter on the war in Ukraine in the joint declaration corresponds to the concerns of today." He also noted that the geopolitical segment of the declaration consists of eight paragraphs, seven of which are devoted to the Ukrainian issue.

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan believes that the Indian declaration is "a vote of confidence that the G20 can come together to solve a number of pressing issues".

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that the declaration agreed in New Delhi contains "very strict wording regarding the illegal war in Ukraine." He also stated that russia is "completely isolated" at the summit. Also, "a good and strong result is the recognition by the participants of the summit of the recognition of the principles of the UN Charter regarding respect for territorial integrity."

Ukraine's reaction to the declaration of the G20 summit

The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oleg Nikolenko noted that Ukraine is not completely satisfied with the text of the declaration.

The state is grateful to the partners who tried to include strong wording in the text, but the absence of representatives of Ukraine at the summit did not allow the participating countries to understand the situation in detail.

The principle of "nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine" remains as key as ever," noted Oleg Nikolenko.

He pointed out that in the declaration, instead of the words "war in Ukraine", it should have been noted that russia is waging a war against Ukraine. It was important to emphasize that the russian federation, not "all countries", should refrain from using force for territorial conquests.

The participants of the summit were also supposed to condemn the aggression of the russian federation against Ukraine and call on russia to stop it immediately, but this, unfortunately, was not done.

We remind you! Blinken arrived in Ukraine for the first time on a two-day visit to discuss the current state of the counteroffensive and further cooperation between the countries. Read more about what good news for Ukraine (and bad news for russia) the U.S. Secretary of State brought with him here.

Photo: Getty Images

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