The leaders at the G20 summit on Wednesday (Nov 16, 2022) adopted the communiqué in Bali which echoed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting – it said that, “Today’s era must not be of war.”

The communiqué acknowledged that security issues can have significant consequences for the worldwide economy and recognized that the grouping is not the forum to resolve security issues.

What had PM Modi said at SCO?

In September this year at the SCO Summit in Samarkand, pertaining to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, during his bilateral meeting on the sidelines with the Russian President Putin had said “now is not the time for war”.

The G-20 communiqué which has now been adopted stated that this year it has witnessed the war in Ukraine further adversely impact the economy globally.

“There was a discussion on the issue. We reiterated our national positions as expressed in other fora, including the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, which, in Resolution No. ES-11/1 dated 2 March 2022, as adopted by majority vote (141 votes for, 5 against, 35 abstentions, 12 absent) deplores in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and demands its complete and unconditional withdrawal from the territory of Ukraine.”

The communiqué stated that the majority members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine, stressing 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.”

While referring to the Russian and Chinese views, it said that there have been different assessments and views of the situations and sanctions. It stated that G20 isn’t the forum to resolve security issues and acknowledged that security issues can have significant consequences for the global economy.

It also stated that to safeguard peace and stability it is important to uphold international law and the multilateral system. And this includes “defending all the Purposes and Principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and adhering to international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and infrastructure in armed conflicts. The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible. The peaceful resolution of conflicts, efforts to address crises, as well as diplomacy and dialogue, are vital. Today’s era must not be of war.”

India at the G20

Later briefing the media persons in Bali, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said that India played a key role in the successful negotiations of the outcome document — PM Modi’s interventions, negotiations in the outcome — India’s approach was cooperative, and constructive in that consensus building across a wide range of issues which were negotiated in the outcome document.

According to the foreign secretary the outcome document was being negotiated in a particular global context, and that found mention not only during negotiations but also in the outcome document.

“There, Prime Minister’s message that this is not the era of war, and the best way to return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy, to resolve the conflict resonated very deeply across all the delegations and helped bridge the gap across different parties and contributed to the successful outcome of the document,” the FS added,

Leading to the final communiqué

The main point relating to the Ukraine conflict in the communiqué  echoes Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message to Russian President Vladimir Putin in September that ‘today’s era is not of war’.

Based on the reports in the public domain there were several rounds of discussions between the diplomats of the grouping over the formulation relating to the Russia-Ukraine war. Both China and Russia are members of G20 which works on the principle of consensus.

The communiqué which has been adopted has also condemned the threats of nuclear weapons use. It states: “The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible. The peaceful resolution of conflicts, efforts to address crises, as well as diplomacy and dialogue, are vital.”