G20 final declaration with Modi imprint adopted by consensus

But It Fails To Gloss Over Serious Differences On Ukraine War

- Sachin Parashar

The G20 Bali Declaration was finally adopted by consensus even though it failed to gloss over serious differences over Ukraine as the outcome document only said “most” members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and acknowledged, at Moscow’s insistence, there were “other views and different assessments” of the situation and sanctions. For India, which helped forge a consensus working with Indonesia, the adoption of the outcome document was significant as it proclaimed “today’s era must not be of war”, echoing PM Narendra Modi’s remarks before President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the SCO summit in September.

According to Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, Moscow insisted that the differences on Ukraine be “put on record”. In a media briefing, foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra said India played a key role in the negotiations with its constructive approach aimed at consensus-building on Ukraine and also many other issues.