France, Russia Praise India on “Delhi Declaration” but for Contradictory Reasons

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Sept 10: Both France and Russia on Sunday thanked India for achieving an unanimity in the G20 Summit “Delhi Declaration,” but for contradictory reasons, France for “isolating Russia” and Russia for “not allowing Ukraine” to hijack the resolution.

The French president Emmanuel Macron said at the conclusion of the Summit on Sunday that the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration “confirms the isolation of Russia” and a “vast majority of G20 countries have condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”

Addressing reporters in Delhi a day after G20 leaders released the Delhi declaration that was light on mention of the war in Ukraine and had no reference to Moscow’s role in the conflict, Mr Macron said “Russia is still waging its war” and then reaffirmed the text of Saturday’s declaration, which spoke about upholding principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, and called on all states to “refrain from the threat, or use, of force to seek territorial acquisition. “The G20 is committed to just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” he declared. He also thanked the host Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “words of peace.”

In contrast, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who had led the Russian delegation at the Summit, said, the G20 Summit in Delhi was a milestone, and didn’t allow the war in Ukraine to take over the agenda. Terming the event a success, Mr Lavrov said India as president of the G20 consolidated, for the first time, the position of the Global South.

“We were able to prevent the West’s attempts to ‘Ukrainize’ the summit agenda,” Mr Lavrov said as the two-day meeting of leaders closed. “The text doesn’t mention Russia at all,” the veteran Russian diplomat added. It was a breakthrough summit as it provides us a way forward to move ahead in many key areas, he further said, expressing gratitude to India for “preventing attempts to politicise” G20.

The New Delhi Declaration’s discreet critique of Russia for its war on Ukraine was seen as a major climbdown from the G20’s position last year, when global leaders cited a United Nations resolution to condemn in “… strongest terms… aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine”.

This year – consensus over which was delayed due to differences between the West and Russia-China over the war – the group acknowledged the war’s impact but said “the G20 is not the platform to resolve geopolitical and security issues… (which) can have significant consequences for the global economy”.

That sentiment – that the G20 is not a forum for global security issues – was referred to by Mr Macron again; he said, “The G20 is not a forum for political discussions. We are here to talk about economic topics and the climate (crisis). G20 should not get stuck in other things… the UN charter is there.”

Disagreements over the wording of the Delhi Declaration were underlined Saturday after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, attending in place of President Vladimir Putin, said his country had been prepared to block any declaration that does not reflect its views on the Ukraine war.

The West, meanwhile, had initially hardened its stance, insisting on stronger language. India had argued that the G20, while it could condemn suffering caused by the war – could do no more as is “a premier forum for economic cooperation” and not to resolve geopolitical and security issues.

Mr Lavrov claimed victory for Russia as “The text doesn’t mention Russia at all” and slammed “Anglo-Saxons” and NATO for their “aggressive policy” and for the prolonged war in Ukraine, which Russia launched in February last year and calls only a “special military operation.”

On Saturday, French diplomatic officials had talked of the high regard they had for India’s negotiators, including Sherpa Amitabh Kant, who led the more than 200 hours of talks that yielded the declaration. A French source said India had assumed “a kind of power… ability to bring countries together” and that there are not many nations in the world today that can bring warring parties to a common table. “This is something important,” the source stressed.

“…Everyone wants peace…About 18 months ago we agreed to sign a treaty about settling this conflict. We even initialled these documents. After that, the Anglo-Saxons ordered Zelensky (Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky) not to sign it because they thought they would be able to reap some confessions from us,” Lavrov said.

He claimed President Putin has recently said Russia doesn’t mind negotiations, however, any such negotiations need to consider the realities on the ground and “take into account the reasons that have been accumulating for decades upon decades due to NATO’s aggressive policy.” “Right now the Ukrainian officials are threatening to physically destroy Russians,” he added.