Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar expressed that the absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin from the upcoming G20 summit in New Delhi is "not unusual" and "not related to his country." In an interview broadcasted on Wednesday, he noted that a group of G20 representatives and diplomats is negotiating to reach a consensus on a declaration for the summit scheduled for September 9-10.
When asked if their absence was due to discontent with India, Jaishankar replied, "No, I don’t think it is related to India in any way. I think any decision they make, they know what is right." Regarding whether their absence would affect reaching a consensus and producing a final declaration at the end of the summit, he stated, "We are currently negotiating; work didn't start yesterday."
He pointed out that expectations for the G20 summit are "very high," and New Delhi is facing challenges in dealing with a "very difficult world" currently burdened by the ramifications of the pandemic, conflicts, climate change, debt, and politics. Five Indian government sources mentioned that disputes over climate change goals have resurfaced in the last two days of meetings at the representative level, further complicating matters for G20 leaders.
The sources clarified that the group of the world's twenty largest economies is divided on commitments to phase out fossil fuels, increase renewable energy targets, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A French diplomat remarked that climate-related news is "not very encouraging," asserting that Saudi Arabia is striving to include a phrase that incorporates fossil fuels into the energy transition. The French diplomat stated, "We believe the opposite completely."
Another Indian government source indicated that the language regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict in the leaders' declaration has not yet been finalized. Jaishankar also downplayed the threat posed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who will represent Moscow at the summit instead of Putin, claiming that Russia will obstruct the issuance of the final statement unless it reflects Moscow's stance on Ukraine and other crises.
Jaishankar mentioned that leaders have skipped summit meetings in the past, and Xi's absence is not exceptional and is not related to India. The stalemate in Indian-Chinese relations since a deadly military clash in their border region in June 2020 has been noted by analysts, suggesting that Xi's absence from the summit represents another setback in the relations between the two Asian giants.
