G20 decries ‘use of force’ in Ukraine for territorial gain in Delhi Declaration

Amid the ongoing G20 Summit, global leaders, without naming Russia, decried the use of force in Ukraine for territorial gain in a summit statement on Saturday, reported AFP.

Referencing the ‘war in Ukraine’, the New Delhi Leaders Summit Declaration said that ‘all states’ should ‘refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state’.

Unlike in a G20 statement in Bali last year, there was no explicit reference to Russia in the Delhi Declaration. In 2022, a UN resolution condemned in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

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The US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan welcomed the phrasing. “From our perspective, it does a very good job,” he told reporters.

“It (Delhi Declaration) reinforced the principles that states could not use force for territorial gain, that using nuclear weapons was ‘inadmissible’, and that ‘a just peace must be based on the principles of the UN Charter, including the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity’, AFP quoted him as saying.

“Attacks on civilian infrastructure, including grid infrastructure, must halt,” Sullivan added.

India, the G20 summit host, has walked a diplomatic tightrope over the Ukraine war. India has balanced its traditional alliance with Moscow with its membership of the Quad grouping alongside the United States, Japan, and Australia.

Meanwhile, the G20 adopted the New Delhi Leaders Summit Declaration on Saturday after PM Narendra Modi announced that consensus had been reached among member states, marking a major breakthrough in the meeting of the most powerful nations in the world.

“Have just got the good news that due to the hard work of our teams and your cooperation, a consensus has been reached on the New Delhi G20 Leaders Summit Declaration,” Modi told the leaders while addressing the second session of the Summit at the Bharat Mandapam.

“I propose that this G20 Declaration be adopted,” the prime minister said. After the approval of the members, Modi said, “I announce the adoption of this Declaration”. “On this occasion, I would like to thank our ministers, sherpas and all officials who made this possible with their hard work,” he said.

With agency inputs.