G20 development ministers' meet fails to reach consensus on reference to Ukraine war

New Delhi: The G20 development ministers’ meeting held in Varanasi on Monday failed to reach a consensus on the Russia-Ukraine war as differences arose between member nations over inclusion of its reference in the final outcome document and Chair’s summary, with China and Russia objecting to it.

The outcome document, which contains 14 paragraphs, said in a footnote that “Russia disassociated itself from the status of this document as a common outcome because of references in para 10 and 11”.

Another footnote said that China also objected to the reference of the Ukraine crisis in the above-mentioned paragraphs.

“The war in Ukraine has further adversely impacted 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… 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,” paragraph 10 said.