Two countries oppose the statement of the G20 finance ministers on Ukraine

In a statement issued at the end of the meeting of finance ministers and heads of central banks of the countries of the group near the city of Bangalore, India stated that all countries of the group had ratified the statement condemning the Russian war on Ukraine, with the exception of Russia and China.

“The G20 is not a forum for resolving security problems, but security issues can have serious repercussions on the global economy,” India said in a statement.

Constant disagreements

Finance ministers of the world’s largest economies could not bridge their differences on Saturday over the war in Ukraine and headed to discuss proposals to restructure the debts of troubled countries, people familiar with the discussions said.

Three envoys told Reuters that the meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the G20 member states is likely to end without issuing a joint statement due to disagreement over the description of the conflict in Ukraine.

The United States and its allies in the Group of Seven major industrialized countries insisted on issuing a statement clearly condemning Russia for entering the territory of its neighbor last year, but the Russian and Chinese envoys opposed this language.

Delegates reported that the Russian and Chinese participants were uncomfortable using the G20 platform to discuss politics.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Reuters that it was “absolutely necessary” for a statement condemning Russia to be issued.

G20 officials told Reuters earlier that India was pushing to avoid using the word “war” to describe the conflict in any communiqué of the meeting.

India, which holds the G20 presidency this year, has maintained a largely neutral stance on the war, refraining from blaming Russia for the military operation in Ukraine while seeking a diplomatic solution and boosting its purchases of Russian oil.

Notably, India and China were among the countries that abstained on Thursday when the United Nations overwhelmingly agreed to demand that Moscow withdraw its forces from Ukraine and stop the fighting.