UK Prime Minister Touts ‘Very Strong Language’ in G20 Declaration on Ukraine
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak talks to media during his visit to Washington D.C., Wednesday, June 7, 2023. The war in Ukraine was top Sunak’s agenda Wednesday as he started a two-day trip to Washington carrying the message that post-Brexit Britain remains an essential American ally in a world of emboldened authoritarian states.InternationalIndiaAfricaMOSCOW (Sputnik) — UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Saturday that the G20 Summit Declaration used «very strong language» in relation to the conflict in Ukraine, while the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry described the wording as «nothing to be proud of.» «The news that we’ve just had… is that under Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi and India’s presidency, the G20 have agreed a joint communique with very strong language about [the conflict in Ukraine] …So I think that is a good and strong outcome,» Sunak was quoted as saying by the iNews daily. Similarly, French diplomatic sources cited by the ANI news agency said that the declaration was very satisfactory. «We had to refer to the United Nations texts, which are indeed mentioned and then we had to affirm a few obvious points for us, but which are not necessarily obvious for everyone, i.e. that a war of territorial conquest is unacceptable, that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states must be respected, and that a just and lasting peace must respect these principles,» the sources were quoted as saying by the news agency. Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko took to social media to point out flaws in the document’s language on the crisis in Ukraine, calling it «nothing to be proud of,» while expressing gratitude «to the partners who tried to include strong wordings in the text.» Earlier on Saturday, the G20 leaders adopted the New Delhi Summit Declaration, which received a 100% consensus on all development and geopolitical issues. The leaders of the world’s major economies said they had different views on and assessments of the Ukraine conflict during discussions of the issue, while jointly calling for respect for the UN Charter. The Financial Times reported that the declaration was «a blow to Western countries» over the lack of global consensus in support of Ukraine.