×
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Modi's 'today’s-era-is-not-of-war' message to Putin echoed in G-20 Bali Declaration

The ‘Bali Declaration’ adopted on Wednesday reflected the differences within the G-20 over the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Last Updated 16 November 2022, 16:21 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “today’s-era-is-not-of-war” message to Russian President Vladimir Putin found resonance in the joint communiqué, which the G-20 adopted at the end of its 17th summit at Bali in Indonesia on Wednesday.

“Today’s era must not be of war,” the G-20 leaders said in the joint communiqué, echoing the message Modi, himself, had delivered to Putin, when they had held a bilateral meeting on the sideline of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) at Samarkand in Uzbekistan on September 16 last.

The ‘Bali Declaration’ was adopted after hectic negotiations, particularly over the paragraphs having references to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which overshadowed the G-20 summit hosted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo. The United States and the rest of the western nations insisted on harsh condemnations for Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine. It was, however, steadfastly resisted by Russia, which opposed the move to shift the focus of the G-20 – hitherto primarily a forum for international economic and financial cooperation – to peace and security.

Modi, however, subtly rejected the argument put forward by Russia during the closing session of the summit in Bali on Wednesday. “Without peace and security, our future generations will not be able to take advantage of economic growth or technological innovation. The G-20 has to convey a strong message in favour of peace and harmony,” he said, taking over the presidency of the bloc from Widodo.

“India is taking charge of the G-20 at a time when the world is simultaneously grappling with geopolitical tensions, economic slowdown, rising food and energy prices, and the long-term ill-effects of the pandemic,” said Modi, who will host the 18th G-20 summit in New Delhi on September 9 and 10 next year. He promised the other leaders that India's G-20 presidency would be “inclusive, ambitious, decisive, and action-oriented”.

The ‘Bali Declaration’ adopted on Wednesday reflected the differences within the G-20 over the Russia-Ukraine conflict. It noted that “most members” had “strongly condemned the war in Ukraine” and stressed that it was “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, however, also took note of the “other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions”.

The G-20 leaders also stated that the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons was inadmissible. “The peaceful resolution of conflicts, efforts to address crises, as well as diplomacy and dialogue, are vital,” they added in the joint communiqué.

“(The) prime minister's message that this is not the era of war, and that the best way is to return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the conflict resonated very deeply across all the delegations and help to bridge the gap across different parties and contributed to the successful outcome of the (negotiation over the) document,” Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra told journalists in Bali.

New Delhi over the past few months has been drawing flak from the US and the other western nations, not only for refusing to join them in condemning Russia for its aggression against Ukraine – primarily in view of its decades-old strategic partnership with and its dependence on the former Soviet Union nation for military hardware. India is also circumventing sanctions imposed by the US and the other western nations on Russia and continuing bilateral trade. It has also increased oil and coal imports from Russia.

Modi had held a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sideline of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) at Samarkand in Uzbekistan on September 16. “Today’s era is not of war”, the prime minister had told the Russian President during the meeting. His appeal to the Russian President had been hailed by the media and the governments in the western nations.

ADVERTISEMENT
(Published 16 November 2022, 16:21 IST)

Follow us on

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT