Ukraine says G20 statement on Russian war 'nothing to be proud of'

Top Ukrainian official Oleg Nikolenko posted a photo of a part of the statement edited in red, changing "the war in Ukraine" to "the war against Ukraine" and adding references to Russia

The foreign ministry of Ukraine said on Saturday the G20's joint declaration was "nothing to be proud of" and criticised it for not mentioning Russia, reported Reuters.

 The ministry's dissatisfaction stems from the declaration's failure to specifically mention Russia. Oleg Nikolenko, the foreign ministry spokesperson, took to social media to point out the shortcomings of the document. 

He posted a screenshot of the relevant section of the joint declaration, with several pieces of the text crossed out in red and corrected with wording which reflects Ukraine's position that it is a victim of unprovoked Russian aggression.

"It is clear that the participation of the Ukrainian side (in the G20 meeting) would have allowed the participants to better understand the situation," he wrote on Facebook, according to Reuters.

The document had said that “all states” should “refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state”, he added.

 

According to the official, there was no explicit reference to Russia, unlike in a G20 statement in Bali in 2022 that cited a UN resolution condemning “in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine”.

“It’s obvious that the Ukraine’s participation (in the meeting) would allow the participants to better understand the situation,” Nikolenko said.

G20 adopted a final declaration. We are grateful to the partners who tried to include strong wording in the text. However, in terms of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, G20 has nothing to be proud of. This is how the main elements of the text could look to be closer to reality pic.twitter.com/qZqYluVKKS

— Oleg Nikolenko (@OlegNikolenko_) September 9, 2023

Although he expressed disappointment with the overall content of the G20 document, Nikolenko extended gratitude to Ukraine's allies for their efforts in promoting Ukraine's stance within the declaration. “Ukraine is grateful to the partners who tried to include strong formulations in the text,” he said.