Russia, China oppose G20 finance ministers meeting, fail to issue joint statement

25.02.2023

The G20 finance ministers meeting came to an end in Bangalore, India. Due to Russia and China’s opposition to the Ukraine war in the draft statement, the final meeting’s joint communiqué was aborted. German Finance Minister Lindner said he regretted China’s refusal to join the condemnation of Moscow.

(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) The G20 finance ministers meeting held in India ended on Saturday. The Associated Press reported that the participating countries failed to issue a joint communiqué because Russia and China objected to language in the final draft statement about the war in Ukraine.

India, the host of the meeting, released the G-20 chairman’s summary and an outcome document, noting that there was no agreement on the language of the war in Ukraine and saying that all member states except Russia and China had condemned the war.The first day of the meeting wasOne-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine。

According to Spanish representative Nadia Calvino, the “not very constructive” approach of some countries at the meeting made it difficult for countries to agree on the text of the joint statement.

Other officials told AFP that China was trying to downplay references to Ukraine in the statement. One of the representatives, speaking on condition of anonymity, said China wanted to delete the word “war”.

In a meeting that also included Russian officials, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen condemned the “illegal and unjust war on Ukraine” and reiterated her call for the G-20 to do more to support Ukraine and stop Moscow’s war ambitions.

Last November inThe post-meeting joint statement of the G20 leaders meeting held in Bali, Indonesia, saying a majority of member states condemned Russia’s war on Ukraine “in the strongest possible terms”. They also expressed concern about the economy, saying the conflict was making an already fragile world economy worse.

Agence France-Presse pointed out that China and India, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the G20, are cautious in condemning Russia.existAt the United Nations General Assembly held on the 23rd, member states voted on Germany’s proposal to “call for peace in Ukraine as soon as possible”. Of these, 141 countries voted in favour, and both China and India abstained.

Moscow is India’s largest arms supplier, and after the outbreak of the Ukraine war, India purchased Russian oil on a large scale.

German finance minister: “regrettable”

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who is in Bangalore, India for the G20 meeting, criticized China for rejecting the joint statement. “It’s very regrettable,” he said. Thankfully, at least for now, Brazil is more critical of Russia than before.

Lindner said that representatives of the Group of 20 had in-depth consultations on the debt issues of developing countries during the meeting. China has shown signs of willingness to compromise in this regard. China is the largest creditor of many poor countries in Asia and Africa. Lindner said debt restructuring was necessary so poor countries could continue to have access to financial markets, energy and food. However, he expressed cautious optimism that China will make progress in this regard within this year.

(AFP, Reuters)

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