Most G20 nations condemn Russia for war, China silent
Finance chiefs of the world's largest economies strongly condemned Moscow for its war on Ukraine on Saturday, with only China and Russia itself declining to sign a joint statement.
India, which as chair of the Group of Twenty (G20) economies was hosting a meeting in the city of Bengaluru, was reluctant to raise the issue of the war but Western nations insisted they could not back any outcome that did not include a condemnation.
The lack of consensus among G20 members meant India resorted to issuing a "chair's summary and outcome document" in which it simply summed up the two days of talks and noted disagreements.
The outcome was similar to that of a G20 summit in Bali last November when host Indonesia also issued a final declaration acknowledging differences. The G20, formed over two decades to tackle economic crises, has increasingly struggled to reach the consensus needed to issue an official end-of-meeting communique.
" Although there was, what you would call, not a communique, but only an outcome statement, I would still think we have made some progress in having all the ministers on board," Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
Russia, a member of the G20 but not of the G7, refers to its actions in Ukraine as a "special military operation," and avoids calling it an invasion or war.
India has kept a largely neutral stance, declining to blame Russia for the invasion, seeking a diplomatic solution and sharply boosting its purchases of Russian oil.
China and India were among the nations that abstained on Thursday (February 23) when UN voted overwhelmingly to demand Moscow withdraw its troops from Ukraine and stop fighting.
Meanwhile, India's push for tougher regulation of private crypto assets won wider support at the meeting.
Besides the G7 nations, the G20 bloc also includes countries such as Australia, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia.
