Ukraine war will be main topic of discussion, says EU official ahead of G20

The Ukraine war will be in ‘everybody’s mind’ and will be the main topic of discussion, a senior European Union (EU) official said ahead of the Group of 20 (G20) Leaders’ Summit under India’s Presidency that is scheduled over the weekend.

“And you’ll see this and it’s not only for Europeans…you’ll see it on the agenda with one theme of the motto of the Indian presidency for each session. But the fact that you can only have a statement or a general declaration with this question shows how permanent it will be…So I think it will figure in all interventions in one way or the other. We have seen this in Bali (last year),” the official said in a media briefing on Wednesday.

Even as Russia recently said that political issues should not be discussed at the G20 level since the organisation is meant to take up economic issues, the EU believes that the grouping is more political than often thought of since it has the presence of leaders from the world’s major economies.

“It’s an illusion that you would just address economic topics. Of course, maybe you can say this for finance ministers and you have all those discussions. But when you have leaders, then it becomes more geopolitical. And I think it’s maybe the only forum where you have this plenary seating of leaders,” the official said.

Even as the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to create a deadlock in finalising the G20 leaders’ communiqué, the other policy areas that will be looked into include reforms in multilateral lending, need for adding more nations such as the African Union to the group, climate change, among other issues.

G20 is a major international grouping that brings together the world’s major economies, with its members accounting for more than 85 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP), 75 per cent of global trade and two-thirds of the world population.