G20 Leaders Condemns Russia's War In Strong Terms
G20 leaders condemns Russia's war in strong terms in a joint statement issued on Wednesday concerning Russia's war in Ukraine, which has killed thousands of people and messed up the world economy. This made Russia's international isolation even worse.
Author:Hajra ShannonReviewer:Paula M. GrahamNov 16, 2022683 Shares48.7K Views
G20 leaders condemns Russia's war in strong termsin a joint statement issued on Wednesday concerning Russia's war in Ukraine, which has killed thousands of people and messed up the world economy. This made Russia's international isolation even worse.
The Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, ended on Wednesday with a statement from the leaders:
“„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.- A statement from the leaders of the Group of 20 summit
After the summit was over, Indonesian President and G20 host Joko Widodo told a news conference that “world leaders agreed on the content of the declaration, namely condemnation to the war in Ukraine,” which violates territorial integrity. But some of the words in the declaration showed that members didn't agree on some things about Ukraine.
“„This war has caused massive public suffering, and also jeopardizing the global economy that is still vulnerable from the pandemic, which also caused risks for food and energy crises, as well as financial crisis. The G20 discussed the impact of war to the global economy.- Indonesian President Joko Widodo
The 17-page document is a big win for the U.S. and its allies, who wanted the summit to end with a strong condemnation of Russia. However, the document also admits that there is a split among member states.
“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 said. “There were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions.”
Jokowi said the G20 members’ stance on the war in Ukraine was the “most debated” paragraph.
“Until late midnight yesterday we discussed about this, and at the end the Bali leaders’ declaration was agreed unanimously in consensus,” Jokowi said.
“We agreed that the war has negative impact to the global economy, and the global economic recovery will also not be achieved without any peace.”
Emergency Meetings
A few hours before, Poland had said that a "Russian-made missile" had killed two people in a village near its border with Ukraine.
Who fired that missile is still not clear. During the conflict, both Russian and Ukrainian forces used weapons made in Russia. Ukraine also used Russian-made missiles as part of its air defense system.
But no matter what the investigation into the deadly strike finds, the incident showed how dangerous it is to make a mistake in a brutal war that has been going on for almost nine months and could get worse and pull in major powers.
G20 leaders declaration denounces ‘Russian aggression’ in Ukraine
As soon as US President Joe Biden heard about the explosion, he called a meeting in Bali with leaders from the G7 and NATO.
For the joint declaration to be passed, it would have needed the support of leaders who have close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, most notably Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who declared a "no-limits" friendship between China and Russia weeks before the invasion, and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
India seems to have moved away from Russia, but it is less clear whether China has changed its position. During a flurry of bilateral meetings with Western leaders on the sidelines of the G20, Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for a ceasefire and agreed to oppose the use of nuclear weapons. However, he hasn't said publicly that he will try to convince his "close friend" Vladimir Putin to end the war.
China And Nuclear Weapons
Since Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine in February, Beijing has refused to call the military action a "invasion" or "war," and it has spread Russian propaganda that blames the conflict on NATO and the US while criticizing sanctions.
Chinese readouts say that when Xi talked about Ukraine with leaders from the US, France, and other countries, he always used terms like "the Ukraine crisis" or "the Ukraine issue" and never used the word "war."
During these meetings, Xi repeated China's call for a ceasefire through dialogue. According to reports from his talks, he also agreed to oppose the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, but these comments are not in China's account of the meetings.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi later told Chinese state media that Xi had repeated China's position that "nuclear weapons cannot be used and a nuclear war cannot be fought" during his meeting with Biden.
Wang praised Russia in a meeting with Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday for taking the same position as China. Wang was quoted by the state news agency Xinhua as saying,
“„China noticed that Russia has recently reaffirmed the established position that ‘a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,’ which shows Russia’s rational and responsible attitude.- China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi
Wang is one of the few foreign officials, if not the only one, who has met with Lavrov in a formal setting. Lavrov was left alone and criticized at a summit where he stood in for Putin.
Hajra Shannon
Author
Paula M. Graham
Reviewer
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