Meeting since Friday in Bangalore, the technological capital of India, the G20 Finance was trying to agree on solutions to the challenges posed by the global economy, in a context of war in Ukraine and rising inflation. India, which holds the presidency of the G20, published Saturday at the end of the meetings a ” résumé discussions, but no joint press release as is customary.
« Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine ” with ” different assessments of the situation and sanctions “, simply states the document. An annotation specifies that within the G20, only China and Russia did not approve two paragraphs regarding Ukraine. Last November, during previous meetings of the G20 Finance, under the Indonesian presidency, no joint press release had been drafted either.
China presents itself as a mediator
China wanted to tone down the language used regarding Ukraine in the G20 Finance joint statement, according to several officials familiar with the discussions interviewed by AFP, on condition of anonymity. According to one of them, China does not want to condemn the war ” in Ukraine. Talks to agree on a term lasted until 2 a.m. Saturday, another official said. In vain.
Since the beginning of the conflict, China has never publicly supported or criticized the offensive, but it has repeatedly expressed its support for Moscow in the face of Western sanctions. This ambiguous position is criticized by Westerners, behind the sanctions, but Ukrainian President Zelensky considers for his part that it is necessary to integrate them into diplomatic discussions.
Yesterday, one year to the day following the entry of Russian troops into Ukrainian territory, Beijing unveiled a document reaffirming its position. Organized in 12 points, it presents China as a neutral actor calling on the two parties to start peace talks.
Criticism once morest Russian power intensifies
This time Germany and France actively pleaded on Friday for the inclusion of the term “war” in the final communiqué of the G20 Finance. “ This is a war. And this war has one cause, one cause, and that’s Russia andt [le président russe] Vladimir Poutine “, had underlined the German Minister of Finance, Christian Lindner. The French Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire had supported the words of his German counterpart. ” We will oppose any backsliding in the joint statement on the statement made in Bali on the war in Ukraine “, he had warned. In November, the heads of state and leaders of the G20 countries met for a summit in Bali, Indonesia. Their final statement stated for the first time that ” most members strongly condemned the war. »
These debates are slowing down the other G20 projects. During their meetings the representatives also mentioned the debt of the poorest countries, because in 2020, the G20 had agreed on a “common framework” for the restructuring of their debt, but its implementation is slow. In October, the World Bank launched an initial roadmap, with the aim of better meeting the financing needs of developing countries. The reform should make it possible to mobilize funds more effectively for the poorest countries, in the face of the challenges posed by inflation, indebtedness or even climate change.
