Top monetary officials from the world’s largest economies were unable to agree Saturday on a joint agreement condemning Russia for its war with Ukraine, and China and Russia itself refused to sign.
India, which, as chairman of the Group of 20 economies (G20), was holding an assembly in the city of Bangalore, was reluctant to raise the war factor, but Western nations insisted that there may not be final results that did not come. with condemnation.
The lack of consensus among G20 members led India to draw up a “Chairman’s Results and Summary Document” summarizing the two days of talks and noting disagreements.
“Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and that it causes immense human suffering and exacerbates the existing fragilities of the global economy,” he said, citing the disruption of chains of origin, dangers to monetary stability and persistent power and food insecurity.
“There were other perspectives and other evidence of sanctions,” he said, referring to measures put in place by the United States, European countries and others to punish Russia for the invasion and deprive it of revenue.
The latest results were similar to those of a G20 summit in Bali last November, when the Indonesian host also took into account a final acknowledgment of differences. The G20, formed more than 20 years ago to deal with economic crises, is finding it increasingly difficult to succeed in the consensus needed to have an official communiqué at the end of the meeting.
“Although there was not what we would call a communiqué, but only an outcome, we still believe we have made progress to have all ministers on board,” Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said China’s refusal to adhere to the declaration was “regrettable. “
U. S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen earlier said it was “absolutely necessary” for anyone to condemn Russia. Two delegates told Reuters that Russia and China did not need the G20 platform to be used to talk about political issues.
Russia, a member of the G20 but still a member of the G7, has called its moves in Ukraine a “special army operation” and avoids calling them an invasion or a war.
India has maintained a largely unbiased stance, refusing to blame Russia for the invasion, seeking a diplomatic solution and dramatically increasing its purchases of Russian oil.
China and India were among the nations that abstained Thursday as the U. N. voted overwhelmingly for Moscow to withdraw troops from Ukraine and avoid fighting.
In addition to the G7 countries, the G20 bloc also includes countries such as Australia, Brazil and Saudi Arabia.
“It becomes complicated for the G20 to have an interaction in a constructive discussion because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is an act that shakes the foundations of the global order,” Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki told reporters.
On the sidelines, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) held an assembly on Saturday with the World Bank, China, India, Saudi Arabia and the G7 on restructuring the debt of troubled economies, but there were also disagreements among members, IMF control said. Director Kristalina Georgieva.
“We have just finished a consultation in which it is transparent that there is a commitment to bridge differences to gain advantages from countries,” Georgieva, who co-chaired the roundtable with India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, told reporters.
One delegate told Reuters that initial progress had been made, basically in the language surrounding the issue, but that restructuring had not been discussed in detail.
Yellen said there were no “results” from the meeting, mainly organizational.
Further discussions are planned for the IMF-World Bank in April.
The pressure has been on China, the world’s largest bilateral creditor, and other countries to settle for a sharp cut in lending to troubled emerging countries.
In a video outside the G20 meeting on Friday, Chinese Finance Minister Liu Kun reiterated Beijing’s position that the World Bank and other multilateral banks are also involved in debt relief through cuts.
India’s push for stricter regulation of personal cryptocurrency assets became broader at the meeting.
Georgieva said policymakers “should not rule out the option of outright bans” if regulation fails. Yellen did not make such bans, but said it was imperative to have a strong regulatory framework.