Washington: The United States on Tuesday said that gaining “absolute consensus on a statement on Ukraine” was a challenge at the G20 Summit and expected that Russia will not change from its position over the Ukraine war.
Responding to a query about India’s position on the Ukraine war, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan recalled last year’s G20 Summit which took place in Indonesia in November, and said that India had signed on to the Bali Communique which condemned the war in the Ukraine.
“India signed on to the statement, most members it was as I recalled. Russia was the main objector to the proposition that so many of the other members of the G20 signed on to,” Sullivan said.
“Don’t expect that Russia is going to flip its position on the Ukraine war this year. So, to get absolute consensus on a statement on Ukraine is challenging because you’ve got Russia a seat at the table and will be at the leader level because Putin has to be there. But the fact that most members of the 20 as most members of the UN General Assembly continue to hold the position of Russia as well as your people, in violation of the UN Charter as it is war must end on terms consistent with the UN charter. That is the result of months of hard diplomacy by connected States and our partners and it continues to reflect where international sentiment is on this issue,” he added.
In the briefing, Sullivan was also asked about the human rights situation in India and whether it will come up in US President Joe Biden’s conversations. Responding to that question, Sullivan referred to the President’s past statements on the issue, including during the last state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US.
“President Biden himself has spoken to questions related to democracy and human rights as recently as the state visit earlier this year US our position on the issue is clear and is reflected in the statements of our Prez it is of course reflected in the reports that you are referring to,” Sullivan said.
In his opening remarks at the briefing, Sullivan said that the US was deeply committed to the G20 as a forum to deliver meaningful outcomes at a time of historic international economic shocks.
At the briefing, Sullivan also confirmed that Biden will visit India for the G20 summit.
“On Thursday, the President will travel to New Delhi for the G20 Summit in India. On Friday Biden will participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On Saturday, Biden will participate in the official sessions of the G20 Summit, 2023,” Sullivan said.