Main Topic: Russian warship firing warning shots on a Palau-flagged cargo ship in the Black Sea.
Key Points:
1. Russia scuppered a U.N.-brokered grain deal that allowed Ukraine to export agricultural produce via the Black Sea.
2. Russia warned that all ships heading to Ukrainian waters would be considered potentially carrying weapons.
3. Ukraine and the West view Russia's actions as a de-facto blockade of Ukrainian ports, threatening the flow of agricultural products to world markets.
Germany's G20 sherpa, Jorg Kukies, stated that Germany will not sign a joint statement that ignores Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, disagreeing with China's position that the discussion of the Ukraine war does not belong in an economic grouping like the G20.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will discuss circumventing Russia's "continued Black Sea grain blockade" at the G20 summit and Lloyd's of London is in talks with the UN to potentially cover Ukrainian grain shipments if a new Black Sea grain corridor agreement can be reached.
Officials at the G20 summit expressed a desire for "just and durable peace" in Ukraine, but Russia successfully watered down a statement on the war, avoiding any mention of its military action "against Ukraine."
India's External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, addressed the New Delhi G20 Leadership Declaration, which called for peace in Ukraine, highlighting its significance as a consensus among members amidst tensions and divergent views over the conflict; however, the declaration received criticism for not mentioning Russia and for its language referring to the war 'in Ukraine' instead of 'against Ukraine'.
The Group of 20 adopted a consensus declaration at a summit in New Delhi that called on all states to uphold international law and not use force to grab territory, but did not condemn Russia for the war in Ukraine, prompting mixed reactions from different nations.
The G20 summit declaration refrained from directly condemning Russia for its actions in the Ukraine conflict, leading to Russia expressing its view that the leaders of the G20 acted in the spirit of conflict resolution.
The G20 summit in New Delhi concludes with Russia and the US praising a consensus declaration that avoids directly criticizing Russia for the war in Ukraine, but highlights the human suffering caused by the conflict and calls on all states not to use force to grab territory.
Any attempt to revive the Black Sea grain deal that isolates Russia is unlikely to be sustainable, according to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who expressed hope but acknowledged the challenges in reviving the agreement at the G20 summit in New Delhi.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the decision to accept the G20 joint statement on Russia's war in Ukraine, emphasizing the importance of territorial integrity and sovereignty, while acknowledging the negative impact of Russia's aggression on food security globally.
Russian Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow did not expect the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration to be adopted and was ready to defend itself and the wording about the Ukraine war, while also crediting the countries of the global south for ensuring that the G20 agenda was not overshadowed by the Ukraine conflict.
The G20 summit's final declaration, which received criticism for not explicitly condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine, was defended by the White House, who praised it for highlighting the importance of a country's sovereignty.
The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, praised the G20 Summit in Delhi for not allowing the war in Ukraine to overshadow the agenda and for consolidating the position of the Global South, preventing the West's attempts to "Ukrainize" the summit agenda.
Finland's President, Sauli Niinisto, warns Europe about the risks of complacency and escalation in Russia's war against Ukraine, emphasizing the potential for nuclear weapons to be used and calling for understanding of the hesitation of leaders in supplying Ukraine with advanced weaponry.
