India pushes Russia, China on G20 consensus on war wording

India is seeking to convince Moscow and Beijing to go along with a consensus on describing Russia's war in Ukraine, similar to the one reached by leaders of the Group of 20 nations last year, a senior official with knowledge of the matter said.

Efforts are on to bridge differences ahead of the meeting of G20 foreign ministers starting later Wednesday, the official said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. The latest round of meetings of the grouping comes as Vladimir Putin's war has entered a second year. 

A meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank heads over the weekend failed to reach a consensus on the language to describe Russia's aggressions in Ukraine, forcing host India to issue a chair's summary instead of a traditional joint communiqué. Russia and China deviated from the Bali formula, objecting to the use of the word "war," India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said after the finance heads' meeting ended.

The official said New Delhi had also pushed at the finance heads' summit to stick to the language of the Bali G20 statement from last November. However, it was unable to get China and Russia to agree, resulting in an impasse.

At a media briefing ahead of the ministers' meeting, Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said Russia's war in Ukraine would be part of the discussions. However, New Delhi "cannot prejudge the outcome of the foreign ministers' meeting."

India stands behind the final statement that emerged from last year's leaders' summit in Indonesia, Foreign Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi added.

Just hours ahead of the meeting, Russia's Foreign Ministry in a statement, accused the US and the European Union of "terrorism" and of instigating its aggression in Ukraine, hinting at the difficulties New Delhi is set to face to get all the member nations on the same page.

"We are set to clearly state Russia's assessments of the current security, energy and food situation," the statement added.

The Foreign Ministry in Moscow didn't immediately respond to an email request for comment.

China Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning repeated that her nation's position is clear: "The core of which is promoting peace talks."

"We hope the international community will play a constructive role in de-escalating the situation and facilitating a political settlement to the crisis," she said Wednesday at a regular press briefing in Beijing.

At last November's summit, the joint declaration referred to the "war in Ukraine" but not "Russia's war in Ukraine" to get as many G20 leaders to sign off as possible.

Beijing and Moscow's coordinated moves at G20 illustrate a growing closeness even as the many nations led by the US have imposed stringent sanctions to isolate and punish Russia for its war in Ukraine. India, which is buying increasing amounts of discounted crude and is heavily dependent on military hardware from Russia, doesn't want to be dragged into either camp.

New Delhi's primary focus is to make the G20 a success, the official said without clarifying whether India would again publicly name countries that deviate from the Bali consensus and block a joint statement.