Opinion: For G20 Delhi Declaration, G7 Ceded Major Ground On Ukraine

The G20 Summit has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, with its success in delivering the New Delhi Leaders' Declaration. There was apprehension that much like the G20 meetings of the Foreign, Finance, and Development Ministers, which could not produce joint statements because of differences over the Ukraine conflict - a Chair's Summary was issued by India in each case - the Summit would fail to establish a consensus document. This pessimism has been happily belied.

Russia, supported by China, had already rejected the repetition of the compromise language on the Ukraine war in the Bali Leaders' Declaration under Indonesia's Presidency in 2022. The position of the West has been hardening over this time with increasing financial support and arms supplies to Ukraine, including cluster bombs, uranium-enriched ammunition, and advanced missiles to enable it to launch its so-called spring offensive to gain an upper hand militarily and force Russia to come to the peace table. Against this backdrop, it seemed most unlikely that these fundamental differences over the Ukraine conflict could be bridged and a compromise language could be drafted to enable a joint statement. 

It is to the credit of New Delhi's diplomacy, backed by the international standing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that India could help forge a compromise language on the Ukraine conflict. In this effort, the weight of the Global South has been a critical element, in that Indonesia, Brazil, and South Africa, the past and future Presidents of G20, and Global South heavyweights, mediated the language, supported also by Mexico and Turkey. Neither the G7 Plus members of G20 nor Russia and China, which have great stakes in the Global South, could have rebuffed these efforts.