Host India does not want G20 to discuss further sanctions on Russia – sources

BENGALURU (Reuters) – India does not want the G20 to discuss additional sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine during New Delhi’s year-long presidency of the bloc, six senior Indian officials said on Wednesday, amid debate over how to achieve that. row conflict.

The financial leaders of the Group of Seven countries will meet on February 23, the eve of the first anniversary of the invasion, to discuss actions against Russia, Japan’s finance minister said on Tuesday on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in India. .

The officials, who are directly involved in the G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank chiefs this week, said the economic impact of the conflict would be discussed but India did not want to consider additional measures against Russia.

“India is not keen to discuss or support any additional sanctions against Russia during the G20,” said one of the officials. The current sanctions against Russia have had a negative impact on the world.”

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Another official said sanctions were not a G20 issue. The G20 is an economic forum for discussing growth issues.

Spokesmen for the Indian government and the ministries of finance and foreign affairs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Delegates from at least seven countries who attended the meetings said that on Wednesday, the first day of the G20 statement-drafting meetings, officials had difficulty finding an acceptable word to describe the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Officials said India tried to form a consensus on the words by calling them “crisis” or “challenge” rather than “war,” but the discussions concluded without a resolution.

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Those discussions have been postponed to Thursday when US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will be part of the meetings.

The Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar had earlier said that the war had disproportionately harmed poor countries by raising fuel and food prices.

India’s neighbors – Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh – have sought loans from the International Monetary Fund in recent months to cope with economic problems caused by the pandemic and war.

US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Ademo said on Tuesday that Washington and its allies plan in the coming days to impose new sanctions and export controls targeting Russia’s purchase of dual-use goods such as refrigerators and microwaves to secure semiconductors needed for its military.

The sanctions will also seek to do more to stop the transshipment of oil and other prohibited goods through neighboring countries.

In addition, Adeymo said officials from a coalition of more than 30 countries will warn companies, financial institutions and individuals who continue to do business with Russia that they face sanctions.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has not publicly criticized Moscow over the invasion and instead called for dialogue and diplomacy to end the war. India has also sharply increased its purchases of oil from Russia, the largest supplier of defense equipment.

Jaishankar told Reuters news agency partner this week that India’s relationship with Russia had been “extraordinarily stable and stable through all the upheavals in world politics”.

Additional reporting by Krishn Kaushik. Written by Krishna N Das; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Nick McPhee

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