What the G20 declaration’s silence on Russia’s role in Ukraine war says about shifting geo-politics

The recent G20 summit in India concluded with a statement on Russia’s war in Ukraine that differs in a number of subtle but highly significant ways from the declaration made by world leaders at the end of the 2022 summit in Bali.

At first glance, the New Delhi statement appears to offer support for Kyiv. It explicitly upholds the principles of sovereignty and opposes the threat or use of force to gain territory. It describes the use of nuclear weapons or threats to use them as “inadmissible”. It acknowledges the human suffering caused by the war.

It also calls for the resumption of the Black Sea Initiative to ensure the export of grain, fertilisers and other vital agricultural products to markets around the world.

But there is a curious absence at the heart of these passages: actions are condemned but no responsibility is assigned for them.

In sharp contrast to the wording of the 2022 G20 communique, there is no reference to Russia as the aggressor that started this war and whose troops continue their illegal occupation of Ukrainian territory. There is no acknowledgement that only Russia has threatened the use of nuclear weapons.

The bland term “human suffering” conceals the torture, rape and murder of civilians and prisoners of war by Russian soldiers that has shocked the...

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