BALI, Indonesia — World leaders at the Group of 20 summit struggled to find common ground on the war in Ukraine in a closing statement on Wednesday, highlighting the gap between the West and other countries. about Russia’s actions.
The summit, held on the Indonesian island of Bali, did not result in a customary joint communique, but officials were able to agree on a “leaders statement”. That statement said that “most members strongly condemn the war in Ukraine,” but that “there are different views and different assessments of the situation and the sanctions.”
Major powers such as India and China are unwilling to join Western-led sanctions against Moscow, and Indonesia has not explicitly condemned Russia for the invasion.
Indonesian president, Joko WidodoThe chairman of this year’s summit, described the passage on the war as “the most debated”.
He told reporters: “Until midnight, we talked about this and finally announced Bali had reached a consensus.
Mr. Joko said that a representative from Russia was present throughout, although President Vladimir V. Putin did not attend and Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, left Bali on Tuesday, before the end of the summit. Peak lasts two days. Asked if Lavrov’s departure was pre-planned, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said in a text message: “I understand.”
I Wayan Koster, the governor of Bali, said that Mr. Lavrov went to the hospital for a check-up on Monday and that he is healthy. A spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry later denied reports that Mr Lavrov had been hospitalized, calling it “an aerobatic show of fake news”.
Little was expected from this year’s G20 summit and Mr Joko described it as perhaps the “toughest” meeting given the broader political landscape. Before Monday’s meeting between President Biden and Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, tensions between the United States and China are at their highest level in years. Many attendees also worried that the agenda could be overtaken by the war in Ukraine.
But Mr Joko said the summit led to concrete and tangible results, including the creation of a $1.5 billion pandemic fund and an $81.6 billion sustainability trust under the International Monetary Fund to help countries in crisis.
Addressing the opening session to world leaders at the closing session, Mr. Joko said: “Stop the war. I repeat, stop the war.” He added: “As leaders, we all have a responsibility to ensure a global situation that is conducive to the world’s future.”
Muktita Suhartono contribution report.
