Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,
At the end of the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, the group released a joint declaration that said “most members” condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine but acknowledged there are differing views, as Moscow is a G20 member.
The declaration reads: “Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy.”
It added that there were “other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions. Recognizing that the G20 is not the forum to resolve security issues, we acknowledge that security issues can have significant consequences for the global economy.”
It wasn’t clear if the G20 leaders would issue a joint statement as a previous summit of G20 foreign ministers failed to do so over divisions about the war in Ukraine. Other G20 members besides Russia have been hesitant to condemn the war, including China.
Many members have not followed the US in sanctioning Russia, including China, India, Brazil, and Indonesia.
A day earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who attended the summit for Vladimir Putin, accused the West of trying to “politicize” the joint declaration, but the Kremlin said Wednesday that it was satisfied with what was released.
“Different approaches and different views on the issue were taken into account and recorded in the declaration,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
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Below is Article 3 of the final G20 Bali Leaders’ Declaration:
This year, we have also witnessed the war in Ukraine further adversely impact the global economy. There was a discussion on the issue. We reiterated our national positions as expressed in other fora, including the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, which, in Resolution No. ES-11/1 dated 2 March 2022, as adopted by majority vote (141 votes for, 5 against, 35 abstentions, 12 absent) deplores in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and demands its complete and unconditional withdrawal from the territory of Ukraine. Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy – constraining growth, increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, heightening energy and food insecurity, and elevating financial stability risks. There were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions. Recognizing that the G20 is not the forum to resolve security issues, we acknowledge that security issues can have significant consequences for the global economy.
