At the G20 meeting of finance chiefs of the world’s largest economies in Bengaluru, India, on Saturday, a joint statement condemning Russia for its war on Ukraine was not agreed upon. China and Russia itself declined to sign, and India, as chair of the Group of 20 (G20) economies, was reluctant to raise the issue. As a result, India issued a “chair’s summary and outcome document” that simply summed up the two days of talks and noted disagreements. Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine, citing disruption of supply chains, risks to financial stability and continuing energy and food insecurity.
However, there were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions put in place by the United States, European countries and others to punish Russia for the invasion and to starve it of revenues. German finance minister Christian Lindner said China’s refusal to join the declaration was “regrettable”, while US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen said it was “absolutely necessary” for any statement to condemn Russia.
Two delegates told Reuters that Russia and China did not want the G20 platform to be used to discuss political matters. India has kept a largely neutral stance, declining to blame Russia for the invasion, seeking a diplomatic solution and sharply boosting its purchases of Russian oil. China and India were among the nations that abstained on Thursday when UN voted overwhelmingly to demand Moscow withdraw its troops from Ukraine and stop fighting.
On the sidelines, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) held a meeting with the World Bank, China, India, Saudi Arabia and the G7 on restructuring debt for distressed economies. There were disagreements among members, but IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said there was a commitment to bridge differences for the benefit of countries. Yellen said there were no “deliverables” from the meeting, which was mostly organisational. Further discussions are planned around the time of the IMF and World Bank meetings in April.
Pressure has been building on China, the world’s largest bilateral creditor, and other nations to take a large haircut in loans given to struggling developing nations. Chinese finance minister Liu Kun reiterated Beijing’s position that the World Bank and other multilateral development banks should also participate in debt relief by taking haircuts. India’s push for tougher regulation of private cryptocurrency assets won wider support at the meeting. Georgieva said policymakers “should not take off the table” the option of outright bans if regulation failed. Yellen did not back such bans, but said it was critical to put in place a strong regulatory framework.
At the G20 meeting in Bengaluru on Saturday, finance chiefs of the world’s largest economies were unable to agree on a joint statement condemning Russia for its war on Ukraine. China and Russia itself declined to sign, with India as chair of the Group of 20 (G20) economies reluctant to raise the issue. As a result, India issued a “chair’s summary and outcome document” that simply summed up the two days of talks and noted disagreements. Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine, citing disruption of supply chains, risks to financial stability and continuing energy and food insecurity.
German finance minister Christian Lindner said China’s refusal to join the declaration was “regrettable”, while US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen said it was “absolutely necessary” for any statement to condemn Russia. Two delegates told Reuters that Russia and China did not want the G20 platform to be used to discuss political matters. India has kept a largely neutral stance, declining to blame Russia for the invasion, seeking a diplomatic solution and sharply boosting its purchases of Russian oil.
On the sidelines, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) held a meeting with the World Bank, China, India, Saudi Arabia and the G7 on restructuring debt for distressed economies. There were disagreements among members but IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said there was a commitment to bridge differences for the benefit of countries. Yellen said there were no “deliverables” from the meeting, which was mostly organisational. Further discussions are planned around the time of the IMF and World Bank meetings in April.
Pressure has been mounting on China, the world’s largest bilateral creditor, and other nations to take a large haircut in loans given to struggling developing nations. Chinese finance minister Liu Kun reiterated Beijing’s position that the World Bank and other multilateral development banks should also participate in debt relief by taking haircuts. India’s push for tougher regulation of private cryptocurrency assets won wider support at the meeting. Georgieva said policymakers “should not take off the table” the option of outright bans if regulation failed. Yellen did not back such bans but said it was critical to put in place a strong regulatory framework.
At Saturday’s G20 meeting in Bengaluru, finance chiefs of the world’s largest economies failed to agree on a joint statement condemning Russia for its war on Ukraine due to opposition from China and Russia itself. India as chair of the Group of 20 (G20) economies issued a “chair’s summary and outcome document” that noted disagreements among members regarding sanctions imposed by Western countries on Russia for its invasion.
Germany’s finance minister Christian Lindner said China’s refusal to join the declaration was “regrettable” while US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen said it was “absolutely necessary” for any statement to condemn Russia. Two delegates told Reuters that Russia and China did not want the G20 platform to be used to discuss political matters. India has kept a largely neutral stance, declining to blame Russia for the invasion, seeking a diplomatic solution and sharply boosting its purchases of Russian oil.
The IMF held a meeting with the World Bank, China, India, Saudi Arabia and the G7 on restructuring debt for distressed economies on Saturday’s sidelines. There were disagreements among members but IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said there was a commitment to bridge differences for the benefit of countries. Yellen said there were no “deliverables” from the meeting which was mostly organisational but further discussions are planned around the time of IMF and World Bank meetings in April.
Pressure has been building on China and other nations to take a large haircut in loans given to struggling developing nations. Chinese finance minister Liu Kun reiterated Beijing’s position that World Bank and other multilateral development banks should also participate in debt relief by taking haircuts. India’s push for tougher regulation of private cryptocurrency assets won wider support at Saturday’s G20 meeting with Georgieva saying policymakers “should not take off the table” option of outright bans if regulation failed. Yellen did not back such bans but said it was critical to put in place a strong regulatory framework.