G20 foreign ministers' meet ends sans communique over Ukraine differences

As a result of the continuing diplomatic tussle between the West and Russia over the war in Ukraine, the first G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting under New Delhi’s presidency ended on Thursday without a joint communique.

Instead, the G20 nations issued a chair summary and a common outcome document on Thursday, the first time this has been done. The document focussed on expanding multilateralism and reforms to the United Nations.

The document outlines the common positions on which the G20 needs to come together, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said at a press conference after the deliberations concluded.

At the recently concluded meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, too, a communique could not be issued as there was no consensus on the Ukraine war. 

While stressing that the G20 arrived at a consensus on the bulk of issues, Jaishankar agreed that divergent views on the Ukraine war stopped a full statement from being adopted.

“Despite the challenges of the divergent positions on the conflict in Ukraine, the G20 foreign ministers were able to come to a consensus on key challenges. We believe the outcome document truly reflects what the G20 should be aiming towards,” S Jaishankar said.

After the completion of the deliberations, Russia released a statement saying talks could not happen in an environment where the West was unilaterally forcing it. The declaration was blocked, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters, after the talks concluded in New Delhi.

Discussions over the joint statement faltered on several issues including Russia’s insistence on an investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline last year, he added.

Common outcome document

The common outcome document focussed on the strong sentiment needed to expand multilateralism and the essentiality of reforms at the United Nations, Jaishankar said.

The important principles of international development cooperation such as host country ownership, equal partnerships and tailoring these for local needs was also mentioned, he added.

It reiterated the need for multilateral development banks to mobilise and provide additional financing. It also stressed on the need to have reliable food, fertilisers, and energy supply chains — one of New Delhi’s key focus areas in the G20 over the past few months.

The outcome document talks of the need for a specific initiative to boost global skills mapping. It also reiterated the need for developed economics to come together and provide the $100 billion required for green financing every year through 2025.