By Manoj Kumar
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Discussions on the G20 leaders’ declaration went on till the last minute and the Ukraine conflict was the most contentious issue before a consensus was reached, an European Union official, who did not want to be identified, said on Sunday.
In the weeks leading to the New Delhi summit, G20 countries had struggled to find a consensus on the Ukraine conflict with the West demanding countries call out Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine and Russia saying it would block any resolution that did not reflect its views.
The Group of 20 adopted a consensus declaration on the opening day of the two-day summit on Saturday that avoided condemning Russia for the war in Ukraine but called on all states not to use force to grab territory.
The leaders’ declaration also called for the implementation of the Black Sea initiative for the safe flow of grain, food and fertiliser from Ukraine and Russia.
The EU official, however, said there was not a single word from Russia on the Black Sea grain deal and the country finds itself more isolated following the summit.
(Reporting by Manoj Kumar, writing by Swati Bhat; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)
