A delegate walks past a display of flags of participating countries at the venue of G20 financial conclave on the outskirts of Bengaluru,India on Wednesday.

A delegate walks past a display of flags of participating countries at the venue of G20 financial conclave on the outskirts of Bengaluru,India on Wednesday.Credit:AP

The lack of full consensus among G20 members meant that India resorted to issuing a “chair’s summary” in which it simply summed up the two days of talks and noted the disagreements.

“Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed that it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy,” it said,citing disruption of supply chains,risks to financial stability and continuing energy and food insecurity.

“There were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions,” it said,referring to measures put in place by the United States,European countries and others to punish Russia for the invasion and starve it of revenues.

The outcome was similar to that of a G20 summit in Bali last November when host Indonesia also issued a final declaration acknowledging differences. The G20,formed over two decades to tackle economic crises,has increasingly struggled to reach consensus among members.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during a press conference at the G20 on Thursday.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during a press conference at the G20 on Thursday.Credit:AP

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen earlier told Reuters it was “absolutely necessary” for any statement to condemn Russia. Two delegates told Reuters that Russia and China did not want the G20 platform to be used to discuss political matters.

Russia,a member of the G20 but not of the G7,refers to its actions in Ukraine as a “special military operation”,and avoids calling it an invasion or war.

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India has kept a largely neutral stance,declining to blame Russia for the invasion,seeking a diplomatic solution and sharply boosting its purchases of Russian oil.

China and India were among the nations that abstained on Thursday when the UN voted overwhelmingly to demand Moscow withdraw its troops from Ukraine and stop fighting.

Ukrainian servicemen of the Prince Roman the Great 14th Separate Mechanised Brigade fire a Soviet-era Grad multiple rocket launcher at Russian positions in the Kharkiv area on Saturday.

Ukrainian servicemen of the Prince Roman the Great 14th Separate Mechanised Brigade fire a Soviet-era Grad multiple rocket launcher at Russian positions in the Kharkiv area on Saturday.Credit:AP

Besides the G7 nations,the G20 bloc also includes countries such as Australia,Brazil and Saudi Arabia.

On the sidelines,the International Monetary Fund (IMF) held a meeting on Saturday with the World Bank,China,India,Saudi Arabia and the G7 on restructuring debt for distressed economies,but there,too,there were disagreements among members,said IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva.

“We just finished a session in which it was clear that there is a commitment to bridge differences for the benefit of countries,” Georgieva,who co-chaired the roundtable with Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman,told reporters.

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One delegate told Reuters that some initial progress was made,mostly on the language around the issue,but restructuring was not discussed in detail.

Yellen said there were no “deliverables” from the meeting,which was mostly organisational.

Further discussions are planned around the time of the IMF and World Bank spring meetings in April.

Pressure has been building on China,the world’s largest bilateral creditor,and other nations to take a large haircut in loans given to struggling developing nations.

In a video address to the G20 meeting on Friday,Chinese Finance Minister Liu Kun reiterated Beijing’s position that the World Bank and other multilateral development banks should also participate in debt relief by taking haircuts.

Meanwhile,fighting was grinding on in Ukraine after the country marked the anniversary of Russia’s invasion,with Ukrainian authorities on Saturday (local time) reporting dozens of new Russian strikes and attacks on cities in the east and south.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to media during a press conference as Ukraine marks one year since Russia’s large-scale invasion on Friday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to media during a press conference as Ukraine marks one year since Russia’s large-scale invasion on Friday.Credit:Getty Images

After a sombre and defiant day of commemorations on Friday and a marathon news conference,Ukraine’s seemingly indefatigable president followed up with new video posts a day later in which he declared “Russia must lose in Ukraine” and said its forces can be defeated this year.

In a separate tweet,President Volodymyr Zelensky also pushed for more sanctions pressure on Russia after Britain,the United States and the European Union all announced new measures aimed at further choking off funding and support for Moscow.

“The pressure on Russian aggressor must increase,” Zelensky tweeted in English.

He said Ukraine wants to see “decisive steps” against Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and the Russian nuclear industry as well as “more pressure on military and banking”.

On Friday Zelensky said he plans to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping but did not say when such a meeting might take place.

“I plan to meet Xi Jinping and believe this will be beneficial for our countries and for security in the world,” he told a news conference in Kyiv on the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Zelensky had earlier reiterated he would not hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Reuters,AP

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