Russia on Sunday said it has noted “the constructive role” of the Indian Presidency of G20 “which strove for a fair consideration of interests and positions of all countries”, after the two-day meet of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors held in Bengaluru ended without a joint communique, following objections raised by China and Russia to the wordings used for the Ukraine conflict.
In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it regrets the anti-Russia and confrontational stance of the collective West which sought to “destabilise” the activities of the G20. It also said the G20 grouping should remain an economic forum and not intrude into the security sphere.
The statement said that on February 24-25, Bangalore hosted the First Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting under the Indian G20 Presidency, which was participated by the Russian delegation.
“As a result of the substantive dialogue on topical financial issues, a wide range of demanded measures was agreed upon, designed to give an additional impetus to the global economy and financial markets. A significant contribution was made to these efforts by our country, BRICS partners and developing countries.
“We note the constructive role of the Indian Presidency, which strove for a fair consideration of interests and positions of all countries. The balanced approaches formulated in this context create a good foundation for responding to modern challenges in the area of global finance and related sectors, including support for economic growth and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
“We regret that the activities of the G20 continue to be destabilized by the collective West and used in an anti-Russian, purely confrontational manner. Our opponents, primarily the United States, the EU and the G7, continue their paranoid attempts to isolate Russia and shift the blame for the provoked problems in the area of international security and the global economy onto it.
“Through open blackmail and diсtate, throwing in absurd interpretations of the situation in Ukraine, the Westerners once again disrupted the adoption of collective decisions. As a result, the fully approved text of the document, except for the wording on Ukraine, which give out for assessments of the discussion at the ministerial meeting something that was not actually discussed and is unrelated to the topic of its jurisdiction, had become a hostage to this aggressive line,” it noted.
“The results of the meeting never received an agreed status and were released only as a statement by the chairman, and not as a joint work. Russia and China expressed a resolute protest in this regard. Many other delegations also experienced serious disappointment with such ultimatum actions by the United States and its allies, which continue to sow enmity and hatred,” it said.
It called on the “collective West to abandon its destructive course as soon as possible, to realize the objective realities of a multipolar world, and to start building normal relations with new centers of power in the international arena, such as Russia, on the principles of the sovereign equality of states.”
“We presume that the G20 should remain an economic forum and not intrude into the security sphere, as was unanimously confirmed at its last year’s summit on November 15-16 in Bali. We will continue to promote fulfillment by the G20 of the functions entrusted to it on a mutually beneficial and depoliticized basis,” it added.
On Saturday, after Russia and China did not agree on two paragraphs on the Ukraine conflict taken from the G20 Bali Leaders’ Declaration of last November, which highlighted its impact on global economic recovery, the G20 delegates opted for a “G20 chair’s summary and outcome document” instead of a communique.
Ajay Seth, secretary of the department of economic affairs, said Russia and China contended that the G20 Finance Ministers have a mandate to deal with economic and financial issues and “should not get into global geopolitical issues”.
The chair’s summary stated: “Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed that it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy – constraining growth, increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, heightening energy and food insecurity, and elevating financial stability risks.”
It added, “There were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions. Recognising that the G20 is not the forum to resolve security issues, we acknowledge that security issues can have significant consequences for the global economy.”