News - Middle East: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the West failed to make the recent meeting of the Group of 20 (G20) in the Indian capital of New Delhi revolve around the Ukraine conflict thanks to the consolidated position of developing countries.

Lavrov, who headed the Russian delegation at the G20 summit, made the statement at a press conference on Sunday as he praised India for hosting the gathering and the efforts of the Global South countries not to allow the international event to be overshadowed by a Western-led anti-Russia agenda.
Before the final declaration of the summit was released, the paragraph on Ukraine was reported to have been a major stumbling block as Western countries pushed for a strong condemnation of Moscow’s 18-month-long war with Kiev, an approach that faced opposition from other members.

“As a result, they stood up to protect their legitimate interests,” which made it possible “to prevent the West from once again Ukrainizing the entire agenda” of the summit and diverting attention from the urgent problems facing emerging economies, Lavrov said.

The top Russian diplomat pointed out that the final declaration “mentions the Ukraine crisis, but only in the context of the need to resolve all conflicts” in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter.
Lavrov said the G20 must focus on economic and financial issues, and praised emerging countries, which prevented the meeting from turning into a “politicized club.”