The G20 summit in New Delhi ended on Sunday with India handing over the bloc’s presidency to Brazil and the US and Russia hailing the consensus reached to adopt a Concluding Declaration that does not condemn Moscow for the war in Ukraine but instead calls on members to avoid the use of force, reports said Reuters, reports News.ro

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested the group’s leaders hold another virtual meeting in November to review progress on the policy proposals and goals announced over the weekend.

“It is our responsibility to review the proposals that have been made to see how progress can be accelerated,” he said in a statement.

On Saturday, the group adopted a Declaration meeting in New Delhi that avoids condemning Russia for the war in Ukraine, but highlights the human suffering caused by the conflict and calls on all states not to use force to seize territories.

The consensus was a surprise. In the weeks before the summit, sharp differences in views on the war threatened to derail the meeting, with Western countries urging members to condemn Moscow for the invasion and Russia threatening to block any resolution that did not reflect its position.

“It was one of the most difficult G20 summits in the almost twenty-year history of the forum. It took almost 20 days to reach an agreement on a statement before the summit, and five days here on the ground,” said Svitlana Lukash, the Russian government’s representative at the G20, as quoted by the Russian news agency Interfax. This was not only due to disagreements on the topic of Ukraine, but also differences in positions on all key issues, primarily those related to climate change and the transition to energy systems with low carbon emissions,” said the representative of Russia.

A European Union official, who did not want to be named, said the war in Ukraine was the most controversial topic of the talks. “Without India’s leadership, consensus would not have been possible,” the official said, adding that Brazil and South Africa also played a crucial role in bridging the gap.

Lavrov believes that developing countries have defeated Ukraine’s Western allies

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, head of the Russian delegation, said the summit was a success for India as well as for the Global South, which refers to the developing countries of the world.

The position of the Global South in the discussions helped to avoid the shadowing of the G20 agenda by Ukraine, he said during the press conference. “India has really strengthened the G20 members from the Global South,” Putin’s representative also said.

For his part, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that the summit’s statement “defends very well the principle that states cannot use force to acquire territory or violate the territorial integrity, sovereignty, or political independence of other states.”

Germany and Britain also praised the resolution, but Ukraine said it had “nothing to be proud of.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said that the G20, a club of countries created to solve international economic problems, is not the place to expect diplomatic progress on the war in Ukraine. However, he believes that the G20 statement does not mean a diplomatic victory for Russia.

“This G20 once again confirms Russia’s isolation. Today, the vast majority of G20 members condemn the war in Ukraine and its impact,” Macron said at a press conference after the summit’s closing ceremony.

The summit also welcomed the African Union, which includes 55 member states, as a permanent member of the G20, stressing that the bloc includes several developing countries.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin were notable absentees from the summit. They didn’t even communicate via video link.

The White House said it was not aware that President Joe Biden, who traveled directly to Vietnam from New Delhi, had any discussions with Lavrov or with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who led their countries’ delegations. at the summit

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