New Delhi
India had hosted the 2023 G20 summit. Due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, creating a consensus among all the countries was a very difficult task. However, when the New Delhi Declaration was passed, the whole world started appreciating India. An hour before the summit was to begin on September 9, 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked Sherpa Amitabh Kant about the status of the ‘New Delhi Leaders Summit Declaration’ and when he was told that there were some issues, he had said that He wants to see results – a ‘consensus’ – soon.
Kant immediately negotiated with fellow Sherpas and succeeded in reaching a final consensus. These behind-the-scenes events are mentioned in Kant’s new book ‘How India Scaled Mount G20: The Inside Story of the G-20 Presidency’. India scored a major diplomatic victory when a declaration on the Russia-Ukraine war was unanimously adopted at the G20 summit despite differences of opinions.
Modi had announced the consensus on the 37-page declaration and its subsequent adoption at the beginning of the second session on the first day of the two-day summit of the group of major developed and developing countries. However, reaching the final draft of the NDLD (New Delhi G20 Leaders’ Declaration) was not at all easy, says Kant.
Kant writes in the book published by Rupa Prakashan, ‘Even after 300 hours of discussion in 250 bilateral meetings, there were continuous amendments and objections to the text. All participants realized the importance and seriousness of the talks, but the search for a mutually agreed outcome still seemed distant.’ He said, ‘Prime Minister Modi was fully aware of what was at stake in this. He asked me to send a status report every two hours. It was a task that required a lot of multitasking and quick analysis. This constant communication not only kept Prime Minister Modi informed about everything, but also kept us constantly engaged in the work, which helped us prepare the outline of the talks and take stock of our progress.
According to Kant, Russia insisted on including the word ‘sanctions’ and this resulted in extensive discussions with Alexander Pankin, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, lasting two and a half hours, to persuade him to reconsider. Could. “There was a lot at stake because not agreeing would have isolated Russia and the vote would have been 19-1 against,” he said. We finally had to tell Russia that this was not possible and that other countries would not accept it. We made it clear to Russia that its insistence on this issue would put a lot of pressure on India and make it impossible for us to move forward.
Had to tell the inside story to the Russian negotiator
Kant said that throughout the talks, G7 countries were pressurizing India to invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but India’s stand was that the guest list should be limited to G20 leaders only. He said, ‘Dr. On Jaishankar’s advice, I had to tell the Russian interlocutor that if he did not agree, Zelensky would be the first speaker after Prime Minister Modi’s speech. This bold and firm negotiation strategy ultimately worked and Russia’s stance softened.
