G20 declaration a 'coup' for Modi amid Ukraine conflict

The G20 declaration, which hit snags on the language to describe the Ukraine war, amounted to a "coup" for host Prime Minister Narendra Modi though the final compromise statement reflected a stand far softer than those the US and its Western allies have adopted on Russia, the world media said on Sunday

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India managed to hammer out an unexpected consensus among the G20 countries on the contentious issue of Ukraine through a series of hectic negotiations with emerging economies such as Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia playing a leading role in reaching the breakthrough on the first day itself.

Leaders gathered for the two-day annual Group of 20 Summit managed to agree on a 'G20 New Delhi Leaders' Declaration' laying out shared views on climate change and economic development but showed the fractures within the group by stopping short of explicitly condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Diplomats had been working furiously to draft a final joint statement in the lead-up to the summit but hit snags on language to describe the Ukraine war.

The New York Times said a painstakingly negotiated declaration Saturday evening at the Group of 20 summit in New Delhi omitted any condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine or its brutal conduct of the war, instead lamenting the "suffering" of the Ukrainian people.

This year there were low expectations that the divided group would reach any sort of consensus with Ukraine, it said.

"The eventual compromise statement amounted to a coup for the summit's host, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but still reflected a position far softer (than) those the United States and its Western allies have adopted individually," CNN commented.

The G20 summit in New Delhi was one of the most complicated in the history of the bloc, Russia's G20 sherpa, Svetlana Lukash, said on Saturday.

"I believe that it was probably one of the most complicated G20 summits in the almost 15-year history of the forum's existence. It took almost 20 days before the summit and five days here on the ground to agree on a declaration," Lukash was quoted as saying by Russia's official Tass news agency.