Finance Minister on Ukraine war: China withdraws from G20 document

Apart from Russia, China also blocked a joint final declaration from the G20 meeting in India. The word war should appear in it. Federal Finance Minister Lindner criticized “China’s backsliding” on Ukraine.

Finance ministers of the leading industrialized and developing countries (G20) did not agree on a joint final declaration at their meeting in India. This is due to Russia’s different approach to the war against Ukraine.

As for the host country India, only 18 of the 20 member states had a common position, which was briefly published by India. Most states again condemned the Russian war of aggression in the strongest possible terms and demanded an unconditional withdrawal from Ukrainian territory. Apart from Russia, China also disagreed with the relevant paragraphs.

“Very Obscure Chinese”

After the meeting, Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner criticized the People’s Republic. He deeply regretted China’s change of attitude. “We collectively condemn the Russian attack on Ukraine. We have a lot in common here – except for the very conflicted Chinese. You should make that very clear.” Brazil, for example, now has a clear position, despite “stepping back towards China”.

India’s G20 presidency this year begins with a bump. Discussions in the southern Indian city of Bangalore – formerly known as Bangalore – included whether the word “war” should be included in the final document.

Don’t get left behind in creating Bali

Germany and France have made it clear that they will not tolerate any more language than the leaders said at the G20 summit in Indonesia’s Bali island in November. There the G20 set out: “A majority of members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine.”

War should not be described in Russia. It must be called a “special activity” or there will be a penalty.

China has officially positioned itself as a potential mediator and recently called for a ceasefire in a position paper on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion. Ukraine rejected the letter, while Russia welcomed it. The central government responded with skepticism, as did the experts. Mikko Houdari, director of the Mercator Institute for China Studies, said: tagesschau24 interviewChina primarily supports the Russian position with paper

Russia also asserted itself and the West accused the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in India of being “unsustainable”. The US, EU and G7 countries are “blocking the adoption of joint decisions” by trying to accommodate their interpretation of the Ukraine conflict’s final declaration, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Washington and its allies made “clear” attempts at the threat and gave “ultimatums” to several delegations.

Differences in terms of credit also

General assessments and targets are usually set out in a statement after the G20 meeting. However, after the war in Ukraine, the talks have repeatedly stalled due to Russia also being a member of the bloc.

There were also differences of opinion at the meeting in India on the debt of poor countries. Lindner had already warned China on Friday that it would have to take more responsibility for possible relief for countries like Ghana. After the meeting, he said he was now cautiously optimistic that further progress could be made this year.