G20: Rift between Russia, West failed to produce joint statement on Ukraine conflict

New Delhi: A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that the failure of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in New Delhi to produce a joint communiqué as a result of the sharp divide between the West and Russia over the Ukraine conflict is not a reflection on India's efforts as host but rather on the "divisions" seen among nations in the international fora.

The Foreign Ministers Meeting was hosted on Thursday in New Delhi by India, the G20's current president, and was joined by counterparts from other G20 countries including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang.

The meeting was unable to come out with a joint communique due to a sharp rift between the West and Russia over the Ukraine conflict despite efforts by host India to bridge the differences.

Blinken told a news conference in the Indian capital that Russia and China were the two countries that did not support a joint communique at the meeting.

“Well, we are not a party to the meeting. I think this is obviously in no way a reflection on the hosts, and on the efforts of India as the host of the G20. Since we’re not at the table, it is not for us to proportion, blame and to analyze where the issue may be. It is yet however another reflection of the divisions we see in a number of international fora,” Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, said at the daily press briefing on Thursday.

Dujarric was responding to a question on the conclusion of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting without a joint communiqué and Washington putting the blame for this on Moscow and Beijing. On the sidelines of the G20 meeting, Blinken and Lavrov spoke briefly face to face for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine a year ago. “I told the Russian foreign minister that no matter what else is happening in the world and our relationship, the US will always be ready to engage and act on strategic arms control just as the US and the Soviet Union did at the height of the Cold War,” Blinken said.

In response to a question on how the Secretary-General sees the Blinken-Lavrov meeting, Dujarric said: “On one hand we didn’t see an agreement, joint agreement or joint statement, on the other hand, any opportunity for direct dialogue between the Russian Federation and the US is to be welcomed.

“But I have no more insight into what was said. But we always believe direct discussions and face-to-face discussions are best,” Dujarric said.

With PTI inputs