G20 fin min meet ends without joint communique as China, Russia oppose draft
Hindustan TimesFinance ministers of the world’s largest economies were unable to agree on a joint communique at their meeting in Bengaluru on Saturday because China and Russia opposed the inclusion of text condemning the war in Ukraine. The outcomes of the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting were summed up in a chair’s summary issued by India, the president of the grouping. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters the draft communique included two paras on the Ukraine crisis taken from the leaders’ declaration or joint statement issued at the last G20 Summit in Indonesia, but China and Russia had a reservation about this. The chair’s summary stated: “Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed that it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy – constraining growth, increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, heightening energy and food insecurity, and elevating financial stability risks.” It added, “There were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions. US treasury secretary Janet Yellen condemned the “illegal and unjustified war against Ukraine” at a session attended by Russian officials and urged G20 members to do more to hinder Russia’s war effort.