Leaders from the Group of 20 major economies plan to urge peaceful resolution of conflicts and condemn the use of nuclear weapons, in a reflection of global anxiety over Russia's war on Ukraine, Ednews reports citing Nikkei Asia.
"The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible," the leaders will say, according to a draft final summit declaration seen by Nikkei Asia. "The peaceful resolution of conflicts, efforts to address crises, as well as diplomacy and dialogue, are vital. Today's era must not be of war."
The communique is set to be formally adopted by G-20 leaders on Wednesday. The text could change before then as a result of further talks on its content.
"Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy -- constraining growth, increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, heightening energy and food insecurity, and elevating financial stability risks," it read.
The draft did, however, note that, "There were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions."
The gathering on "The Island of the Gods" is the first major global summit of developed and emerging nations since Russia's invasion in February.
During one of the sessions, it became apparent that India's position on Russia's war in Ukraine has evolved.
"We have to find a way to return to the path of ceasefire and diplomacy in Ukraine," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the leaders. "Over the past century, the Second World War wreaked havoc in the world. After that, the leaders of that time made a serious effort to take the path of peace. Now it's our turn."
Initially, India did not condemn Moscow's invasion outright, but more than half year into the war, Modi in September told Russian President Vladimir Putin that "today's era is not an era of war" -- a statement reflected in the draft document.
In front of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for an end to the war in an online speech.
"Just when the world was hoping to recover from the blows of the pandemic, the Russian war provoked a whole series of new global challenges. This must be stopped!" he said. "There is a set of solutions that need to be implemented. And I want the conversation about it to be public, not behind the scenes. I want it to be discussed in specific terms, and not in broad strokes."
Indonesia, current chair of the G-20, is focusing on three main topics for the summit -- strengthening global public health architecture, making the transition to renewable energy, and fostering a digital economic transformation.
"Dear leaders, the world is facing tremendous challenges. Crisis after crisis is occurring," Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in his opening remarks.
"The COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet, rivalries continue to rise, wars occur and the impact of various crises on food, energy and financial pressures is felt by the world, especially developing countries."
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has canceled a visit to the summit in Bali after testing positive for COVID-19, according to a statement posted on Twitter.
The G-20 is sandwiched between other major summits in Asia: the annual leaders' meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh -- both of which ended on Sunday -- and the two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that opens in Bangkok on Friday.
The talks in Cambodia laid bare deep divisions between nations fronting the South China Sea and Ukraine.
The initial East Asia Summit draft statement called for respecting "sovereignty, political independence [and] territorial integrity" and underlined "the importance of an immediate cessation of hostilities [in Ukraine]." But Lavrov criticized NATO for expanding its footprint to the Indo-Pacific and said the U.S. and its allies were not taking into account "the interests of most of the countries that are here."
Founded in 1999 two years after the Asian financial crisis, the G-20 started as a forum for ensuring international financial stability. Its members account for about 80% of the world's trade and economic output.
However, the bloc's ability to respond effectively to a crisis such as the Ukraine war has yet to be tested. And with Western nations viewing the conflict differently from other countries, it is unclear whether the meeting will yield positive results.
Finance ministers and central bankers from G-20 nations failed to produce a joint communique in their three meetings this year.
