200 Hours, 300 Meetings: G20 India Sherpa On Deliberations For Consensus On Ukraine

G20 India Sherpa Amitabh Kant has said that over 200 non-stop negotiations and more than 300 meetings took place to bring consensus on Ukraine war.

G20 Summit Delhi: India on Saturday did what seemed unachievable in the present geopolitical scenario — managing '100 per cent consensus' on the Ukraine issue on the New Delhi Declaration — with many countries standing firm against Russia due to its war in Ukraine. India managed to get a consensus of the G20 leaders despite differences over the Russia-Ukraine conflict which is being seen as a masterstroke for New Delhi's diplomatic approach. Explaining the intense preparations that took place behind the curtains, G20 India Sherpa Amitabh Khant said that over 200 hours of non-negotiable discussions, and more than 300 bilateral meetings happened to bring consensus on the 'most complex' part of the entire G20.

He added that a total of 15 drafts were made before the final one was adopted.  Kant also praised two of his officers for their work on the Ukraine issue in a post on X.

"The most complex part of the entire #G20 was to bring consensus on the geopolitical paras (Russia-Ukraine). This was done over 200 hours of non -stop negotiations, 300 bilateral meetings, 15 drafts. In this, I was greatly assisted by two brilliant officers - @NagNaidu08
 & @eenamg," the G20 India Sherpa said.

 

Today’s Era Must Not Be Of War: G20 Leaders' Declaration On Ukraine

The G20 New Delhi Leaders' Joint Declaration covers the issue of the Ukraine conflict through points 7-14. Recalling the discussion during the Bali summit, it said that the countries reiterated their "national positions and resolutions adopted at the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly (A/RES/ES-11/1 and A/RES/ES-11/6) and underscored that all states must act in a manner consistent with the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter in its entirety".

The declaration called on all the states to refrain from the use of force against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state. The leaders also termed the use of nuclear weapons "inadmissible".

It emphasised that the group is a forum for international economic cooperation, and "not the platform to resolve geopolitical and security issues", acknowledging that these concerns can have significant results for the global economy.

The document also highlighted the human suffering and negative added impacts of the war in Ukraine as far as global food and energy security, supply chains, macro-financial stability, inflation and growth are concerned.  It added that these have complicated the policy environment for countries, especially developing and least-developed countries which are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic

The declaration also appreciated the efforts of Türkiye and UN-brokered Istanbul Agreements on Promoting Russian Food Products and Fertilizers to the World Markets and the Initiative on the Safe Transportation of Grain and Foodstuffs from Ukrainian Ports (Black Sea Initiative).

Other Important Pointers From Declaration 

• We also expressed deep concern about the adverse impact that conflicts have on the security of civilians thereby exacerbating existing socio-economic fragilities and vulnerabilities and hindering an effective humanitarian response.


• We call on all states to uphold the principles of international law including territorial integrity and sovereignty, international humanitarian law, and the multilateral system that safeguards peace and stability.


• We will unite in our endeavour to address the adverse impact of the war on the global economy and welcome all relevant and constructive initiatives that support a comprehensive, just, and durable peace in Ukraine that will uphold all the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter…in the spirit of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’.


• Today’s era must not be of war.