UPDATE: US, Russia praise G20 summit declaration as meeting heads to close

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White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan praises declaration
U.S. President Joe Biden leaves for Vietnam, misses summit’s last session
White House says not aware of any talks between Biden and Russia’s Lavrov or China’s Li

By Katya Golubkova, Michel Rose and Manoj Kumar

NEW DELHI, Sept 10 (Reuters) – Russia and the U.S. both praised a G20 summit declaration that stopped short of directly criticising Moscow for the war in Ukraine as the bloc’s leaders headed into the final day of deliberations on Sunday.

The world’s biggest economies adopted a consensus declaration in New Delhi on Saturday that avoided condemning Russia for the war but highlighted the human suffering the conflict had caused and called on all states not to use force to grab territory.

“Everything was reflected in a balanced form,” Svetlana Lukash, the Russian G20 sherpa, or government negotiator, was quoted as saying by Russian news agency Interfax.

“All members of the G20 have agreed to act as one in the interests of peace, security and conflict resolution around the world.”

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters the declaration “does a very good job of standing up for the principle that states cannot use force to seek territorial acquisition or to violate the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of other states”.

Germany and Britain have also praised the resolution but Ukraine has said “it was nothing to be proud of”.

In the weeks leading to the summit, sharply differing views on the war had threatened to derail the meeting, with the West demanding members call out Moscow for the invasion and Russia saying it would block any resolution that did not reflect its position.

The summit also admitted the African Union which includes 55 member states, as a permanent member of the G20.

On Sunday, the leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, German Olaf Scholz, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron and Japan’s Fumio Kishida, visited the memorial of Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi.

Most of the leaders were barefoot as they walked to the site where Gandhi was cremated following his assassination in 1948 by a Hindu extremist and stood in silence.

Biden later left for Vietnam, missing the last session of the summit. The White House said it was not aware of him having any talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov or Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who led their country’s delegations at the summit.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin both skipped the summit.

“This was one of the most difficult G20 summits in the almost twenty-year history of the forum … it took almost 20 days to agree on the declaration before the summit and five days here on the spot,” Lukash, the Russian delegate, said.

“This was not only due to some disagreements on the Ukraine subject, but also due to differences in positions on all key issues, primarily the issues of climate change and the transition to low-carbon energy systems…”

A European Union official, who did not want to be identified, said on Sunday the Ukraine war was the most contentious issue in the negotiations.

“Without India’s leadership it would not have been possible,” the official said, adding that Brazil and South Africa also played a crucial role in bridging differences.

Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has left tens of thousands dead, displaced millions and sown economic turmoil across the world. Moscow, which says it is conducting a “special military operation” there, denies committing any atrocities.

(Additional reporting by Krishn Kaushik; Writing by Sanjeev Miglani and Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

India’s strong leadership made it possible for G20 leaders to reach consensus in intense discussions on a summit message urging nations to shun use of force in territorial disputes, a senior European Union official said on Sunday.

Five takeaways from G20 summit on its final day

* Russia praises G20 consensus declaration that avoid direct criticism of Moscow for the war in Ukraine as ‘balanced”

* EU official says Ukraine issue was the most contentious issue and dragged out negotiations until the last moment

* G20 leaders including U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak gather at Rajghat, the memorial to the father of the Indian independence movement, Mahatma Gandhi, on the banks of the Yamuna river.

* Britain commits $2 billion to the Green Climate Fund to help developing countries cope with climate change

* Biden skips final session of summit, flies to Vietnam for talks

Russia says G20 declaration ‘balanced’

Russia praised a G20 summit declaration that stopped short of directly criticising Moscow for the war in Ukraine and said the bloc’s leaders had acted in the interest of conflict resolution as deliberations headed into a second day on Sunday.

The group adopted a consensus declaration in New Delhi on Saturday that avoided condemning Russia for the war but called on all states not to use force to grab territory. Russia says it is conducting a “special military operation” there.

“There were very difficult negotiations on the Ukraine issue; first of all, the collective position of the BRICS countries and partners worked, everything was reflected in a balanced form …”, Svetlana Lukash, the Russian G20 sherpa, or government negotiator, was quoted as saying by Russian news agency Interfax.

BRICs groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

In the weeks leading to the summit, G20 countries had struggled to find a consensus on the Ukraine conflict with the West demanding countries call out Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine and Russia saying it would block any resolution that did not reflect its views.

A European Union official, who did not want to be identified, said on Sunday discussions on the G20 leaders’ declaration went on until the last moment and the Ukraine war was the most contentious issue before a consensus was reached.

The official praised India’s strong leadership, adding that Brazil and South Africa also played a crucial role in the negotiations.

U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak are among those attending the summit hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has sought to play a pivotal role balancing the interests of the global south with those of the West.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry said the Delhi declaration was “nothing to be proud of”, adding that a Ukrainian presence would have given participants a better understanding of the situation.

Ukraine had asked if it could attend the summit of the world’s biggest economies.

Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has left tens of thousands dead, displaced millions and sown economic turmoil across the world. Moscow denies committing atrocities during the conflict.

Discussions on G20 leaders’ declaration went on till last minute, EU official says

Discussions on the G20 leaders’ declaration went on till the last minute and the Ukraine conflict was the most contentious issue before a consensus was reached, an European Union official, who did not want to be identified, said on Sunday.

In the weeks leading to the New Delhi summit, G20 countries had struggled to find a consensus on the Ukraine conflict with the West demanding countries call out Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine and Russia saying it would block any resolution that did not reflect its views.

The Group of 20 adopted a consensus declaration on the opening day of the two-day summit on Saturday that avoided condemning Russia for the war in Ukraine but called on all states not to use force to grab territory.

The leaders’ declaration also called for the implementation of the Black Sea initiative for the safe flow of grain, food and fertiliser from Ukraine and Russia.

The EU official, however, said there was not a single word from Russia on the Black Sea grain deal and the country finds itself more isolated following the summit.

Britain commits $2 billion to the Green Climate Fund to help developing countries cope with climate change

Britain will commit to provide $2 billion to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to help developing countries cope with climate change, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday at the G20 Leaders Summit in New Delhi.

The pledge would be the biggest single funding commitment the UK has made to date to help the world tackle climate change, a government statement said.

The Green Climate Fund (GFC) – the world’s largest such fund – was set up under United Nations’ climate change negotiations to help channel money needed by poor states to meet their targets to reduce carbon emissions, develop cleaner energy sources and adjust to a warming world.

Britain has committed to spend 11.6 billion pounds ($14.46 billion) on international climate finance between 2021 and 2026.

“Today’s pledge represents a 12.7% increase on the UK’s previous contribution to the GCF for the period of 2020-2023,” Sunak’s office said in a statement.

In July, the Guardian reported the country was planning to drop its flagship climate funding pledge, but the British government said those claims were false. Government officials calculated it would have to spend 83% of the total aid budget on the international climate fund to meet the 11.6 billion pound target by 2026.

The Group of 20 nations adopted a wide-ranging declaration on Saturday that including reiterating its commitment to scale up sustainable finance to help developing countries reduce their carbon footprints. It said $5.8-5.9 trillion is required by developing countries before 2030, in particular for their needs to implement their emission targets.

China, Europe should ‘unite and co-operate’, Premier Li says at G20

China and Europe should “unite and co-operate” against global uncertainties, Premier Li Qiang told the European Union chief on the sidelines of the annual G20 summit in New Delhi.

Li’s call came as the European bloc grows warier of the risks of engaging China, defined as its partner, competitor and “systemic rival” since 2019.

“Risk prevention does not preclude co-operation, interdependence should not be equated with insecurity,” Li told EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement.

Li urged the bloc to provide a non-discriminatory environment for Chinese firms, adding that China was willing to strengthen dialogue and co-operation in areas such clean energy and green finance, the ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

“China and the EU should further unite and co-operate, and use the stability of China-EU relations as a hedge against the uncertainty of the world situation,” it quoted Li as saying.

Li was attending the summit as a representative of President Xi Jinping, who did not attend.

In June, the EU adopted a strategy of “de-risking” to manage its dependence on the Asian giant, which is the world’s second largest economy.

WHAT IS THE G20?

The world’s 20 major countries formed an economic grouping after the Asian financial crisis in 1999 on the understanding that crises spilling across borders needed better international economic co-operation to tackle them.

The bloc accounts for 80% of global gross domestic product (GDP) and 75% of international trade.

It includes Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Although only treasury chiefs met in initial years, the heads of all member nations decided to meet once a year for a summit after the 2008 financial crisis.

The G20 is discussing a plan for the African Union to join.