India has made another attempt to issue a joint declaration on behalf of G-20 countries on the Ukraine crisis. India has shared a new paragraph to build consensus among all G-20 member countries. Now it is expected that China and Russia will agree on this. If this new paragraph is approved by all G-20 countries, including China and Russia, then it will be released as a declaration. It will be a big victory for India. China and Russia had refused to agree to the paragraph prepared earlier.
Now India has shared a new ‘paragraph’ to mention the Ukraine conflict in the leaders’ declaration to be released at the end of the two-day summit of the grouping among G20 countries today. Diplomatic sources gave this information. Due to lack of consensus on the paragraph related to the Ukraine conflict, India on Friday shared a draft joint declaration of summit among the member countries without a paragraph related to the geo-political issue so that a positive outcome can be achieved. The new text in India’s declaration on Ukraine was shared as G20 leaders began deliberating on serious global challenges on the first day of the summit.
The release of the manifesto will increase India’s credibility
The lack of consensus on terminology in the context of Ukraine is also expected to end the summit without a joint declaration. This will be a first for this group. At the G20 Sherpa meeting held in Haryana’s Nuh district from September 3-6, there was no consensus on the text mentioning the Ukraine issue. Indian interlocutors believe that a consensus will be reached on the new paragraph circulated on Saturday morning, the sources said. If this happens, it will be considered a big success for India. The reaction of western powers as well as China and Russia to this new paragraph related to Ukraine was not immediately known. Two sources had earlier said the G7 countries did not agree on any declaration without reference to the Ukraine conflict.
Manifesto can be released only after consensus
The G20 works under the principle of consensus and there have been apprehensions that in the absence of consensus, the summit could conclude without a joint declaration. Both Russia and China had agreed on two paragraphs on the Ukraine conflict in a declaration issued during the summit in Bali, Indonesia last year, but backed out this year, creating a difficult situation for India. Almost all major meetings chaired by India, including at the level of finance and foreign ministers, could not come out of the consensus document related to the Ukraine conflict due to opposition from Russia and China.
