NEW DELHI: The G20 foreign ministers’ meet concluded in New Delhi on Thursday without a joint statement due to sharp rift between the West and Russia over the Ukraine conflict despite efforts by host India to bridge the differences.
“We worked hard to get on the same page but there were a few differences. The good point is that on most issues we all were in agreement,” said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. However, a ‘Chair’s summary and outcome document’ was issued for the first time in a G20 foreign ministers’ meeting. The document mentioned two paragraphs on the Ukraine conflict but the footnote said all countries, except Russia and China, agreed to them. The two paragraphs were taken from G20’s Bali declaration.
Notably, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke with each other on the sidelines of the meeting. “I spoke with Lavrov and asked him to end this aggression and bring about peace through dialogue and diplomacy. I also requested him to release Paul Whelan (former US marine facing a 16-year jail term in Russia after he was arrested in 2018 on suspicion of spying),” said Blinken adding that there were many issues which every member had a consensus on.
Meanwhile, Lavrov said Russia did not reject any proposal to find a political solution to the Ukraine conflict. Praising India’s efforts in this direction, he said: “Our relationship with India is characterised as special strategic partnership... We appreciate the dignified position of India.”