KYIV: Kyiv on Saturday criticised the G20 leaders' statement on the Russian invasion, which denounced the use of force for territorial gain but refrained from direct criticism of Russia by name.
"Ukraine is grateful to the partners who tried to include strong wording in the text. At the same time, in terms of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the Group of 20 has nothing to be proud of," said Oleg Nikolenko, a spokesman at the Ukrainian foreign affairs ministry.
Nikolenko posted a photo of a part of the statement edited in red, changing "the war in Ukraine" to "the war against Ukraine" and adding references to Russia.
The document had said that "all states" should "refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state".
There was no explicit reference to Russia, unlike in a G20 statement in Bali last year that cited a UN resolution condemning "in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine".
"It's obvious that the Ukraine's participation (in the meeting) would allow the participants to better understand the situation," Nikolenko said.
European nations and the United States had pressed for the G20 not to water down its earlier condemnation of a war that has caused food and fuel price spikes worldwide.
But after the agreement on the statement, a top White House official said Washington was happy with the outcome.
"From our perspective, it does a very good job," US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters.
He said the G20 statement stood up "for the principle that states cannot use force to seek territorial acquisition or to violate the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of other states."
With Putin repeatedly raising the spectre of the conflict turning atomic, Sullivan also pointed to the G20's agreement that "the use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible".
ALSO READ :