G20 summit statement takes aim at Russian invasion of Ukraine

World leaders gathered in New Delhi for the G20 summit took aim at the Russian invasion of Ukraine in their annual statement released Saturday.

In the declaration, a win for the U.S., summit leaders said that “all states must refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition.”

At the same time, in a concession to objections from Russia and China — who also had to sign on — the statement noted that “there were different views and assessments of the situation” in Ukraine and it avoided any specific condemnation of Russia.

“The G20 statement includes a set of consequential paragraphs on the war in Ukraine. And from our perspective, it does a very good job of standing up for the principle that states cannot use force to seek territorial acquisition,” said US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, CNN reported.

The annual statement— which took days of brutal negotiation to form a consensus — also addressed climate financing, cryptocurrency, and green energy initiatives, including a gradual drawdown in coal power and an agreement to provide $4 trillion of low-cost financing yearly for the expected energy transition.

Images from the summit show President Biden chatting up British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre and glad-handing with other world leaders, including the summit host, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

While the forum is typically a chance for world leaders to meet and discuss issues of mutual concern, both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin were not in attendance.

With Post Wires