India is working to bring Russia and China in line with the consensus reached by the Group of 20 nations last year on describing the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, news agency Bloomberg reported quoting a senior official with knowledge of the matter.
The G-20 foreign ministers' meeting began on Wednesday, and efforts are underway to resolve differences before it takes place.
Last year, the G-20 leaders reached a consensus on the description of the war in Ukraine. India is now seeking to persuade Moscow and Beijing to agree on the same language. The latest round of meetings of the grouping comes as Russia-Ukraine conflict enters its second year.
At the G-20 finance ministers' and central bank heads' meeting over the weekend, a consensus on the language to describe Russia's actions in Ukraine could not be reached. Russia and China objected to the use of the word 'war,' deviating from the Bali formula, according to the Bloomberg report. As a result, India had to issue a chair's summary instead of a traditional joint communique.
The official, on the condition of anonymity, told Bloomberg that India had pushed at the finance heads' summit to adhere to the language of the Bali G-20 statement from last November, which referred to the "war in Ukraine" but not "Russia's war in Ukraine." However, Russia and China did not agree, resulting in an impasse.
Ahead of the foreign ministers' meeting, Russia's Foreign Ministry released a statement accusing the US and the European Union of "terrorism" and of instigating its aggression in Ukraine, hinting at the challenges that India is likely to face in achieving consensus.
"We are set to clearly state Russia's assessments of the current security, energy and food situation," the statement added.
At last November's summit, the joint declaration referred to the "war in Ukraine," but not "Russia's war in Ukraine," to ensure that as many G-20 leaders as possible signed off on the statement.
