US reveals the difficulty behind having joint G20 declaration, says ‘Russia and China are less likely to…’
G20 Summit being held in India. However, Washington has also highlighted the problems that could lead to the G20 Summit ending without a joint communique. G20 Sherpas are trying to work together on ironing out a final declaration that will be adopted by PM Narendra Modi and other world leaders over the weekend, reported ANI.
However, White House officials have highlighted that the issue of war in Ukraine could be a point of contention between the Western countries and Russia and China. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has also made it clear that his country will block any summit declaration that doesn't reflect Moscow's views on Ukraine and other crises. India, on the other hand, has insisted that a final agreement is within reach despite the geopolitical tensions.
On being asked about the possibility of having a joint G20 declaration this year, US National Security Council (NSC) coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby said, "We hope so. We certainly hope so. But, I mean, I think you know it’s difficult to get 20 clocks to chime at the same time, so we’re going to have to – we’re going to work on this.
We know that the Indians also would like to see a joint communique if you will, so we’ll see where it goes," "Often times the sticking point tends to be the war in Ukraine because countries like Russia and China are less likely to sign on to language that the rest of the international community is more uncomfortable signing on to, so we’ll see where it goes. But we’d like to see that, absolutely," Kirby added G20 countries represent around 85 per cent of the world's GDP, 75 per cent of the world's trade and around two-thirds of the global population. The grouping includes Argentina, Australia, Brazil,
. Read more on livemint.com
