G20: Russia-Ukraine proves obstacle to joint statement as India issues Chair's Summary again

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar (Reuters file image)

The Russia-Ukraine issue proved a gap too far to bridge for the G20 foreign ministers as India was forced to issue a Chair's Summary and Outcome Document for the second meeting in a row.

"There were a very large number of issues on which there was agreement," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in a briefing on March 2.

"There was a considerable meeting of minds... If we had had a perfect meeting of minds on all issues and captured it fully, then obviously it would have been a collective statement. But there were issues...concerning the Ukraine conflict, on which there were divergences," Jaishankar added.

The issuance of a Chair's Summary and Outcome Document at the end of the Foreign Ministers' Meeting follows a similar conclusion last week after the meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors was also unable to reach a consensus over a communique, or a joint statement, due to opposition from Russia and China over the characterisation of the conflict in Ukraine.

Last week's meeting in Bengaluru ended with the Chair's Summary adopting two key paragraphs from the Bali Leaders' Declaration, which said most members condemned Russia for the war, while other members had differing views and assessments of the situation.

Russia and China had then voiced their opposition to the inclusion of these two paragraphs, which was mentioned in a footnote.

Jaishankar said today that apart from two paragraphs in the Chair's Summary, there was consensus among the G20 members on the rest of the document.

The Chair's Summary issued at the end of the meeting of the foreign ministers on March 2 also took the same two paragraphs from the Bali Leaders' Declaration.

In his briefing today, Jaishankar said he had mentioned in one of the sessions today that for the Global South, the Russia-Ukraine conflict was a make-or-break issue.

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In addition to his discussions with G20 members, Jaishankar said he had also met with China's foreign minister, with the bulk of the conversation surrounding concerned the bilateral relationship, which Jaishankar has previously described as "abnormal".

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"There are real problems in that relationship, that need to be looked at, that need to be discussed very openly and candidly between us," Jaishankar said, adding that these discussions included "peace and tranquillity along the border".