Russian air strikes shake fragile G20 consensus

18/11/2024 6:11

        A Russian air strike
        on Ukraine on Sunday shook a fragile consensus among the Group
        of 20 major economies drafting their joint statement at an
        annual leaders summit in Rio de Janeiro, three diplomats
        familiar with the talks told Reuters.
        
        European diplomats are now pushing to revisit previously
        agreed language on the topic of global conflicts after Russia
        unleashed its largest air strike on Ukraine in almost three
        months. The United States responded by lifting prior limits on
        Ukraine's use of U.S.-made weapons to strike deep into Russia.
        
        The escalating conflict could upset a hard-fought consensus
        that G20 negotiators reached around 5 a.m. on Sunday, after an
        overnight push to ready the joint statement for final review by
        leaders arriving in Rio.
        
        That preliminary consensus after six days of negotiations
        included streamlined language about global conflicts including
        the war in Ukraine, focusing on the need to negotiate peace
        rather than criticism of any participants.
        
        However, sources said even that "simpler" consensus may now
        be up for reconsideration following the Russian air strike and
        the prospect of further escalation.
        
        United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a G20
        news conference in Rio that he continued to support efforts for
        a "just peace" in Ukraine.
        
        "Our position has been very clear in relation to ...
        avoiding a permanent escalation in the war in Ukraine," he
        said.
        
        French President Emmanuel Macron told journalists in Buenos
        Aires that his focus is backing a Ukrainian response.
        
        "With what is happening today, we must first equip and allow
        Ukraine to resist. This is the key to the coming days and
        the upcoming weeks," Macron said before embarking for Brazil.
        
        "We will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes," said
        Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, in a
        Globo TV interview from Rio.
        
        Until Sunday's air strike, the toughest element of the talks
        in Rio had been shared language on financing to mitigate global
        warming, as differences at U.N. climate talks in Azerbaijan
        spilled over to the G20 summit in Brazil.
        
        Wealthy nations, especially in Europe, have been pushing for
        more countries, such as China and major Middle Eastern oil
        producers, to make obligatory contributions to climate finance
        targets.
        
        For the G20 leaders' joint statement, however, Brazil and
        other developing nations resisted that pressure, sources said.
        
        Two diplomats said the negotiators agreed early on Sunday to
        a text mentioning developing nations' voluntary contributions to
        climate finance, stopping short of calling them
        obligations.