Statement on the Ukraine war: G20 states condemn violence and the threat of nuclear weapons

Statement on the Ukrainian War
G20 countries condemn violence and the threat of nuclear weapons

September 9, 2023, 1:18 p.m

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An agreement on a joint follow-up declaration at the G20 summit comes as a surprise given the war in Ukraine. This is apparently only possible because both Western states and Russia enforce passages of the text. It’s about nuclear weapons and grain.

At the G20 summit in New Delhi, the leading industrialized and emerging countries agreed on a joint final declaration despite major differences of opinion on the war in Ukraine. This is what Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. The passage on the Ukraine war addresses demands from both Russia and the West. Moscow therefore achieved that the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine is no longer explicitly condemned, as it was last year. Instead, reference is now only made to relevant United Nations resolutions. However, the heads of state and government condemned the “use of force” to achieve “territorial gains” in Ukraine.

The West also negotiated a formulation according to which all states must refrain from attacks on the territorial integrity or political independence of other states. In addition, Russia’s nuclear weapons threats are being criticized again, at least indirectly. “The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible,” the text says. It was proposed by India along with South Africa, Brazil and Indonesia.

What will be particularly important for Moscow is that the text also addresses Russian demands for easing Western sanctions. It says there is a call to ensure the “immediate and unhindered delivery of grain, food and fertilizers/additives from the Russian Federation and Ukraine”. This is necessary to meet the needs of developing countries, especially those in Africa.

Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin recently canceled an agreement for the transport of Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea, citing Western sanctions against his country. He argues that the punitive measures also hinder the transport of Russian food and fertilizer to other parts of the world.

USA will host summit in 2026

Delegations had previously reported that there was a tough struggle between negotiators over the wording. According to the information, the West was faced with an alliance of China and Russia. Beijing is Moscow’s most important international partner and has not yet condemned the war of aggression against Ukraine. Because of the dispute, it was unclear whether there would be a joint final declaration by the participants, as usual.

Another point of conflict was whether the G20 summit in 2026 should be hosted in the United States or elsewhere. According to diplomats, the USA prevailed against China. Next year’s summit will be held in Brazil, and in 2025 in South Africa.

At the previous G20 summit on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali in 2022, apparently under pressure from China, Moscow agreed to include the sentence in the final declaration: “Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine.” Russia’s position was depicted with the words: “There were different views and different assessments of the situation and the sanctions.”