Ukraine conflict, multipolarity and climate issues: Live updates from G20 summit in India

Italy plans to quit China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Bloomberg has reported, citing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The PM met with her Chinese counterpart Li Qiang on the sidelines of the G20 summit in India on Saturday.

Italy was the only G7 nation to join the global infrastructure pact launched by the Chinese government in 2013.

Reports in Italian media claim that Rome’s decision to pull out was not dictated by the United States. Instead, Italy will reportedly revitalize a 2004 strategic partnership agreement with China, aimed at fostering economic cooperation.

Japan has praised India’s role in reaching a consensus between the G20 countries at the summit in New Delhi.

“Under the leadership of India as this year’s chair, we were able to agree on the G20 Leaders’ declaration, which is a truly meaningful achievement,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told a press conference at the conclusion of the summit.

On Saturday, the G20 leaders issued a joint declaration despite concerns that the issue of Ukraine would prevent members from reaching a consensus.

India's G20 presidency “set the path for the world,” World Bank President Ajay Banga has said on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi.

“I consider the fact that there was a declaration, a tribute to the fact that the G20 leadership found a way to give and take and negotiate and find the right way to agree and set the path for the world. The world is watching, the G20 has got the developed world and the developing countries,” Banga was quoted by ANI news agency as saying.

He underscored that 80% of the world’s GDP was represented at the summit, and the fact that they agreed on the final communique sends a positive message.

Moscow and New Delhi are constantly in touch with each other on bilateral matters, including payment issues, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has told the media in New Delhi.

“We have recently met with my counterpart S Jaishankar and discussed bilateral issues, including the issue of trade settlement. In the current situation, Russia has billions of rupees accumulated in the accounts of Indian banks, and we are discussing how they can be used. And our Indian friends have promised they will suggest prospective areas where these funds can be used as investments."

The minister noted that other bilateral agreements, including in the defense sector, are progressing as planned.

The West’s proposal to reconnect Rosselkhozbank (Russian Agricultural Bank) to the SWIFT system through a Luxembourg-based subsidiary is “completely unrealistic,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

It was reported earlier this week that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told Lavrov that the branch could apply for access to SWIFT “immediately” and potentially receive it within a month.

According to Lavrov, the subsidiary in question does not have a license for banking operations and will be closed down.

Russia appreciates the efforts made by the UN Secretary-General to revive the Black Sea grain deal, but that work is doomed if the West does not deliver on its promises to accommodate Moscow’s needs, Lavrov stated. Guterres’ efforts were aimed at lifting sanctions on Russian fertilizer and food exports, he stressed.

Russia pulled out of the deal in July saying that the West had failed to meet its demands under the agreement. Access for Rosselkhozbank to the SWIFT international banking messaging system is Moscow’s key condition for reviving the Black Sea grain deal.

The African continent needs to do away with Western colonialist habits, the Russian foreign minister said. Speaking at a press conference after the G20 summit in New Delhi, Sergey Lavrov discussed the attempts made by Western countries to prevent African leaders from engaging with Russia and the demands that they “do as they’re told,” instead of making their own informed decisions.

The former colonial countries have neglected Africa’s most pressing needs, which is most evident when it comes to technology, Lavrov said while answering a question from RT.

Citing the negotiations at the Russia-Africa summit in July and other events, the foreign minister said that African nations do not want to continue to sell their raw materials to the West for processing, as the West then sells the processed products at inflated prices and makes huge profits, none of which trickles back down to the countries of origin. African nations want the technology to be able to process their resources on their own soil, Lavrov stated.

The G20 Summit has concluded in Delhi with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi passing the presidency baton to Brazilian President Lula da Silva.

In his closing remarks, Modi called for further work on some of the issues that India pushed during its tenure as the host. Modi advocated for global standards in crypto regulation and the need to expand the mandate for multilateral development banks.

Marking the symbolic transfer of the G20 presidency, Modi handed over the gavel to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who praised India for giving voice to the interests of emerging economies.

The G20 summit will give a strong impetus to the reform of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

"The [Delhi] declaration sets out the tasks of reforming the International Monetary Fund. If IMF quotas and votes were distributed fairly, the Americans would have lost their artificially maintained veto power a long time ago. The summit will give a strong impetus to the efforts to reform the IMF and the WTO, the efforts that are being artificially held back by the Americans and their allies," the minister said.

The Delhi Declaration adopted on Saturday pledges to reform international financial institutions, including an improvement of the WTO’s functions “through an inclusive member-driven process” and a revision of the adequacy of IMF quotas.

The West failed to "Ukrainize" the agenda of the G20 summit in India, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

The Delhi Declaration refers to the situation in Ukraine in the broader context of the peaceful resolution of all conflicts, Lavrov told a press conference at the conclusion of the G20 leaders’ summit.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), calling it the “largest cooperation project in our history.”

The project, which was unveiled on Saturday, aims at streamlining trade, telecommunications, and supply chains.

“I welcome the statement that was released today by the United States, India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the European Union… Israel is at the focus of an unprecedented international project that will link infrastructure from Asia to Europe. This link will also realize a multi-year vision that will change the face of the Middle East, and Israel, and will affect the entire world,” he said.