G20 summit agrees on words but struggles on action

US President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the European Union Ursula von der Leyen attend the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, September 9, 2023. - Reuters

SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI (Reuters): The Group of 20 major economies reached a hard-fought compromise over the war in Ukraine and papered over other key differences in a summit declaration at the weekend, presenting few concrete achievements in its core remit of responses to global financial issues.

Diplomats and analysts said the surprise consensus in the summit statement on the Russia-Ukraine conflict avoided a split in the group, and the inclusion of the African Union as a new member represented a victory for host India and for developing economies, but the rest was disappointing.