Ukraine slams G20 declaration saying it’s ‘nothing to be proud of’ after Biden and other leaders sign on to document that doesn’t call Russia an aggressor in the war but bans nukes

Ukraine called the joint statement that emerged from this weekend’s G20 leaders’ summit “nothing to be proud of” after the document did not label Russia as an aggressor in the war but did ban the use of nuclear weapons.

The G20 leaders, including President Joe Biden and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who replaced Russian President Vladimir Putin, gathered in New Delhi for the annual meeting.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi insisted that a joint communiqué be drawn up at the meeting, after the G20 leaders’ summit in Bali ended without one last year due to a lack of consensus on the Russian invasion.

But by Saturday afternoon an agreement had already been reached on a verbiage, which one of Ukraine’s top officials said was missing.

“Ukraine is grateful to the partners who tried to include strong language in the text. At the same time, the Group of 20 has nothing to be proud of when it comes to Russian aggression against Ukraine,” Oleg Nikolenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, wrote on his account on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. .

Nikolenko even went so far as to edit the document, saying that the G20 leaders should have called the war “in” Ukraine and the war “against” Ukraine, writing in “Russia” where the vaguer “all states” were used.

A Russian official called the language “balanced.”

The G20 document stated: ‘Concerning the war in Ukraine, while recalling the Bali discussion, we reiterated our national positions and resolutions adopted in the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, and we underline that all States must act in a manner consistent with the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter as a whole.’

“In accordance with the UN Charter, all States must refrain from the threat or use of force in pursuit of territorial acquisition contrary to the territorial integrity, sovereignty or political independence of any State. The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is unacceptable,” the report said.

Modi, the host of the G20, announced the breakthrough on Saturday afternoon at the end of the summit’s second session.

“Friends, we have just received good news,” Modi said in Hindi. “Thanks to the hard work of our teams and with the cooperation of all of you, a consensus statement has been reached by the G20 leaders in New Delhi.”

“I declare the declaration accepted,” he said, slamming his hands on the table as the room erupted in cheers.

About the Ukrainian language, Nikkei cited a source close to the Indian government, which said Russia had to adapt during India’s G20 presidency as the two have been long-standing partners.

“There is a compromise on the language (referring to the conflict),” the source said.

Lavrov was present at every event of the weekend, including the vegetarian feast Modi held on Saturday evening and the tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on Sunday morning at the Raj Ghat monument.

The US had pressured the Indians to invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to the G20 leaders’ summit, but the Modi government did not do so.