Indian FM explains decision not to invite Zelensky to G20 summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is not among the special guests invited to the G20 summit in Delhi, as the meeting discusses energy, fertilizer and food supplies. This was stated by Indian Foreign Minister Subramanyam Jaishankar during a briefing in Delhi, a Vedomosti correspondent reports.

“G20 is a group about the problems of the global [экономического] growth, development. This is a summit to discuss the problems of energy, fertilizers, food supplies,” he said, answering the question why Ukraine is not among the special guests invited to the G20 summit in Delhi.

Jaishankar noted that this is about the G20 summit, and not about the UN Security Council. According to him, the G20 does not deal with global security issues. “That’s why we made the decision [не приглашать в числе дополнительных почетных гостей Украину]. At the same time, nine invited countries are among those affected by the consequences of the Ukrainian conflict,” the minister stressed.

Formerly India’s G20 Sherpa (Confidant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the group) Amitabh Kant informedthat the leaders of Bangladesh, Mauritius, Nigeria, the Netherlands, Spain, Oman and Singapore were invited to the summit as “special guests”, “demonstrating different economies” in terms of development and geographical location, which corresponds to the Indian slogan of the summit “One land – one family – one future”.

Jaishankar did not mention the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin at the summit. He only noted that all members of the G20 received invitations to the summit in Delhi. On July 30, speaking at a press conference following the Russia-Africa summit, which was held in St. Petersburg, Putin noted that a decision on his trip to India had not yet been made.

In addition, the head of the Indian Foreign Ministry said that he was “optimistic” about the possibility of a peaceful resolution of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. According to him, the “window for negotiations” is open both on the grain deal and on the general settlement of the conflict. “There are certain issues that are difficult to resolve. But I am optimistic,” Jaishankar said.

The G20 meeting will be held in Delhi on September 9-10. Last year, the G20 summit was held in Indonesia. Russia was represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Zelensky also received an invitation, but he refused the trip. As a result, Zelensky made a video message in which he listed 10 conditions of the “Ukrainian peace formula”, among which are the restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine, the withdrawal of Russian troops from its territory, fixing the end of the conflict, as well as ensuring food, energy and nuclear security.

In response, the Russian authorities said that Zelensky’s “peace formula” had nothing to do with peace, and noted that Kyiv was not ready for dialogue. On June 27, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov stressed that at the moment there are no prerequisites for negotiations with Ukraine, since “this is absolutely ruled out” by Kiev and Western countries.