G20 New Delhi Summit: Was joint communique a diplomatic success?

NEW DELHI: With the G20 summit wrapping up on Sunday, host India was able to notch a diplomatic victory as world leaders gathered in New Delhi reached consensus on a joint declaration despite previous concerns over addressing Russia’s war in Ukraine.

In the months leading up to the summit, Indian diplomats worked hundreds of hours on several drafts to find common ground on the wording regarding Ukraine, with Russia and China raising several objections.

The final joint declaration touched on the war, but avoided specifically condemning Russia, and categorised the “human suffering and negative added impacts” of the war in an economic context “with regard to global food and energy security, supply chains, macro-financial stability, inflation and growth.”

The declaration called on all states to “uphold principles of international law … including territorial integrity.” It also “welcomed … relevant and constructive initiatives” to “support a durable peace” in Ukraine.

The statement added that there were “different assessments of the situation.” The wording was noticeably softer compared with last year’s declaration at the Bali G20 summit, which “deplored in the strongest terms ... aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine” and called for a “complete and unconditional withdrawal.”

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry called the declaration “nothing to be proud of,” but some of Kyiv’s key supporters voiced their satisfaction with the language used.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz praised the statement’s clear position stressing the “territorial integrity” of all countries. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the G20 statement “does a very good job of standing up for the principle that states cannot use force to seek territorial acquisition.”

S Jaishankar, India’s external affairs minister, said “many things have happened” since last year’s G20 summit.

“Bali was a year ago, the situation was different,” he told a press briefing. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the summit was a success and added “we were able to prevent the West’s attempts to ‘Ukrainize’ the summit agenda.” Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attend the summit.

Amit Julka, assistant professor of international relations at India’s Ashoka University, told DW that the language used suggested a “climb down” from both Russia and Western countries.

“Broadly speaking this was a compromise from the West. But there was a reverse compromise as well, since Russia has agreed to not use nuclear weapons,” he said.

“Any direct mention of any specific nation was excluded, and the broad principle of territorial sovereignty was stated. Every country accepted it because they were free to interpret it in their own way,” Julka added.

The positive outcome of India’s G20 presidency comes after several events throughout the year during which Prime Minister Narendra Modi was able to bolster India’s image as a growing diplomatic and economic force in the world.

“India succeeded in several ways. It has been able to project its diplomatic abilities at the global level. However, the success can only be analysed in the long term,” Shaunak Set, a visiting lecturer at King’s College London, told DW. Inviting the African Union to become a permanent member of the G20 was seen as a way to highlight the importance of including the “Global South” in multilateral forums.