G20 Summit has been a milestone: Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov

NEW DELHI: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Sunday described the New Delhi G20 Summit as “a milestone” and said the active role of the Indian presidency "has genuinely consolidated" the G20 countries from the Global South for the first time in history.

Addressing a press conference after the conclusion of the G20 Summit here, Lavrov said a healthy solution has been found in the declaration regarding the need to strive for a clear and equitable balance of interest.

"It is a long way to go but this Summit has been a milestone... I would also like to mention the active role of the Indian presidency that has genuinely consolidated the G20 countries from the Global South for the first time in history. Our BRICS partners - Brazil, India, China, and South Africa have been particularly active and thanks to these consolidated positions taken by the Global South countries to uphold and protect their legitimate interests,” he said.

“I think that a healthy solution has been found in the declaration regarding the need to strive for a clear and equitable balance of interest. It is one of the decent purposes and we are already on track. In our turn, we will continue strengthening these positive trends including during Brazil's presidency next year and in 2025 during South Africa's presidency,” he added.

Lavrov also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposal to hold a virtual G20 session in November towards the end of India’s G20 presidency to review the proposals made at the New Delhi Summit.

“While closing today's session, PM Modi said that he would convene another G20 Summit via video conferencing in late November. It will be another opportunity for us to review the implementation of the agreements that we have reached today," Lavrov said.

The Russian leader accused the Western countries of not fulfilling their promise about funds to deal with climate change.

“The West also had long ago promised even 100 billion US dollars per year to counter the negative consequences of climate change, but nothing on that has been done. The declaration also mentions the tasks that need to be done in accordance with the long-standing promises in order to ensure a balance of interest in the global economy,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the day announced the conclusion of the G20 Summit and proposed to hold a virtual G20 session in November to review the suggestions and proposals made at the premier forum for international economic cooperation.

Before declaring that the summit had ended, PM Modi handed over the ceremonial gavel of the Group of 20 presidency to Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva."

The G20 declaration was adopted on Saturday, the first day of the Summit.