Russia Praises India’s ‘Unifying’ G20 Presidency, Slams West for ‘Ukrainisation’ of Global Agenda – News18

Ahead of the G20 in New Delhi next week, Russia has praised the ‘unifying nature’ of India’s Presidency as the host of the global forum while slamming Western countries for the “Ukrainisation of the international agenda.” The G20 Summit, of which India is hosting the presidency for the year 2023, is scheduled in the national capital from September 8-10.

During a press conference in Moscow on August 30, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said “We would like to note the unifying nature of India’s G20 Presidency, the country’s commitment to promoting the interests of the developing countries and creating a constructive atmosphere at the forum.

“The summit is expected to take a decision on accepting the African Union as a permanent G20 member. We welcome this step. Russia was among the first to support this initiative and contributed to carrying it out,” she said in the presser, a copy of the script which was posted by the Russian Foriegn Ministry on its website.

During the briefing, Zakharova also accused West of spreading anti-Russia information and adopting the “policy of confrontation” by creating artificial roadblocks in the way of G20.

“We refer to this phenomenon as the Ukrainisation of the international agenda, meaning a refusal to recognise the actual challenges related to the Ukraine crisis, its causes and ways to settle it, while seeking to place this topic on top of the agenda everywhere even when it has no place in the discussion,” the spokesperson added.

This remark comes just two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, in which the former said that he won’t be able to attend the upcoming Summit.

Can’t Attend G20 Summit in Delhi, Putin Tells PM Modi as They Discuss Global Issues Over Phone Call

Putin conveyed his inability to attend the summit and said that Sergey Lavrov would represent Moscow in his place. During the call, PM Modi also thanked Putin for Russia’s consistent support of all initiatives under India’s G20 Presidency. The two leaders also discussed a number of issues and reviewed the progress of the bilateral ties between the two nations.

The G20 Summit taking place in India next week is aimed to bring together G20 member countries along with guest nations to participate in discussions about diverse economic reforms.

PM Modi is scheduled to address the Business 20 (B20) Summit India 2023, the official G20 dialogue forum with the global business community, in Delhi on Sunday.

The group of G20 countries comprises 19 nations including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkiye, United Kingdom, United States and the European Union.