G20 member states a new text to refer to the Ukraine crisis in the draft leaders declaration in an attempt to break the impasse over this issue.
The draft declaration prepared on Friday, which was approved by most G20 member states, left the paragraph on the “geopolitical situation” or the Ukraine crisis blank, people from one G20 member state and one G7 member state said.
The sources said that negotiators from the G20 countries reached agreement on 75 other paragraphs in the draft, which included issues such as financing climate change, reforming multilateral development banks and regulating cryptocurrency.
The Sherpas, or personal representatives of the G20 leaders, were unable to reach agreement on the Ukraine clause despite holding several sessions on Thursday and Friday. These sessions were held after the conclusion of the fourth and final Sherpa meeting in Manesar on 6 September.
“The Indian side circulated the draft paragraph on the Ukrainian issue to other G20 members this morning [Saturday]. It is now being considered by other countries. Some countries have no problem with the wording.”
Two people from one of the G20 countries also said that a draft paragraph on Ukraine had been circulated to other member states for discussions in an attempt to break the deadlock on the issue.
Participants described the discussions as “difficult” and noted that the Ukrainian crisis remained the main issue hindering consensus on the draft leaders’ declaration. The Indian side urged that the draft paragraph be accepted by all countries in order to ensure a successful conclusion of the summit, but the people admitted that the discussions were likely to be extended.
Pointing to the difficult negotiations over the wording of the paragraph on the Ukraine crisis, the people said there were disagreements over whether the issue should be referred to as the “war in Ukraine” or the “war against Ukraine.” The G20 works by consensus, and objections from one member could derail an agreement.
In another development, the Chinese side also rejected the text’s reference to the US presidency of the G20 in 2026, two sources said.
Russia and China reject any reference to the Ukrainian crisis in the leaders’ draft declaration. The Russian side said it was not ready to accept the text used in the leaders’ declaration at the G20 summit last year to refer to the Ukraine crisis as the situation on the ground changed. China has opposed any mention of the war in Ukraine on the grounds that the G20 is an economic forum and should not address geopolitical issues.
All ministerial meetings held under the Indian G20 presidency this year were unable to issue joint statements due to disagreements over the Ukraine crisis.