Russia hails unexpected G20 ‘milestone’ as Ukraine fumes

BBC News:

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has praised a joint declaration by G20 leaders in Delhi that avoids condemning Moscow for its war against Ukraine.

Russia had not expected consensus and agreement on the wording was “a step in the right direction”, said Mr Lavrov.

The closing G20 statement denounced using force for territorial gain but made no mention of Russian aggression, prompting criticism from Ukraine.

The two-day summit also inducted a new permanent member, the African Union.

The 55-member bloc joins at the invitation of hosts India, one of whose key objectives while president has been to make the G20 more inclusive with greater participation of so-called Global South countries.

The world’s biggest economies reached other key deals in Delhi, including one on climate and biofuels – although there was criticism of the summit’s failure to commit to phasing out fossil fuels.

For the second year in a row, there was no official G20 “family photo”. No reason was given but reports say many leaders refused to be photographed, pointing to Russia’s presence at the summit.