G20: Discussions on official statement getting more difficult, says Spain's Nadia Calviño

Calviño said Spain was aligned with the G7 position and the language of the official G20 statement could not take a step back from what was agreed by the leaders in Bali.

Discussions among G20 delegates are getting "more difficult" in finalising the language of the official statement to describe the war between Russia and Ukraine, Nadia Calviño, Spain's Vice-President and Minister for Economy and Digitalization, has said.

"Conversations and negotiations are getting more difficult due to geo-political tensions as the war goes on," Calviño told reporters in Bengaluru on February 25 on the sidelines of the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors.

"I cannot confirm right now what the outcome is going to be as the work is still ongoing, but we have been able to make progress on many of the open issues and the key issue regarding language on the war," she added.

Calviño said Spain is "very much aligned with the G7 position" and the language of the official G20 statement could not take a step back from what was agreed by leaders in Bali.

"This language has to feature in our communique since, obviously, we cannot reduce the ambition or change the language that have been agreed by our leaders in Bali," she explained.

The G20 Bali Leaders' Declaration, released in November under the presidency of Indonesia, had said most members "strongly condemned the war in Ukraine" while others had different views and "different assessments of the situation and sanctions".

India, which assumed the presidency of the G20 in December, has so far been neutral and has looked to walk the path of dialogue and diplomacy. As part of this approach, it has looked to avoid discussions on the imposition of further sanctions on Russia in G20 meetings and the use of the word 'war' in official G20 statements.

Russia has termed its attack on Ukraine a "special military operation".

The conflict has led to a sharp increase in global commodity prices, including those of crude oil. Developed nations have imposed sanctions on Russia and a price cap on its oil exports to hurt its revenues. Meanwhile, India's purchases of oil from Russia have surged over the last one year, taking advantage of the discounts being offered by the warring nation.

Spain, which is not a part of the G20 but one of the nine guest nations, is the latest country to say there could not be a step-back in the language condemning Russia for waging a war against Ukraine that completed one year on February 24.

The indicative deadline for the adoption of the official statement is 6 PM on February 25, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman expected to brief the media afterwards.

An official aware of the ongoing deliberations told Moneycontrol that India is "working hard" on the communique. While the language to describe the war is a sticking point, the discussions are continuing.

"We still have 4-5 hours left to finalise the statement. Give us that time," the official told Moenycontrol on te condition of anonymity earlier today on February 25.

Calviño expressed confidence in India's presidency of the G20, saying progress was being made on many "open issues".

"I have confidence that the Indian presidency is going to continue to do an excellent job and will be able to go to the maximum in terms of the consensus building efforts to try to have a communique."