Ukraine war will be main topic of discussion, says EU official ahead of G20

The Ukraine war will be in ‘everybody’s mind’ and be the main topic of discussion, a senior European Union (EU) official said ahead of the Group of 20 (G20) Leaders’ Summit scheduled over the weekend.

“And you'll see this and it's not only for Europeans…you'll see it on the agenda with one theme of the motto of the Indian presidency for each session. But the fact that you only can have a statement or a general declaration with this question shows how permanent it will be. So, I think it will figure in all interventions in one way or the other. We have seen this in Bali (last year),” the official said in a media briefing on Wednesday.

Even as Russia recently said that political issues should not be discussed at the G20 level, the EU believes that the grouping is more political than often thought of since it has leaders from the world’s major economies.

“It's an illusion that you will just address economic topics. Of course, maybe you can say this for finance ministers and ministers and you have all those discussions. But when you have leaders, then it becomes more geopolitical. I think it is maybe the only forum where you have this plenary seating of leaders,” the official said.

Even as the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to create a deadlock in finalising the G20 leaders’ communiqué, the other policy areas that will be looked into includes reforms in multilateral lending, need for adding more nations such as the African Union to the group and climate change, among other issues.

G20 is a major international grouping that brings together the world's major economies. Its members account for more than 85 per cent of the global gross domestic product (GDP), 75 per cent of global trade and two-thirds of the world population.