Officials directly involved in this week’s G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank chiefs said the macroeconomic impact of the war would be discussed but India did not want to discuss additional action against Russia.
One of the officials said, “India is not inclined to discuss Russia during the G20 or withdraw any additional sanctions.” “The current sanctions on Russia have had a negative impact on the world.”
Another official said sanctions are not a G20 issue. “The G20 is an economic forum to discuss development issues.”
Spokespeople for the Indian government and the ministries of finance and external affairs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar has previously said that the war has adversely affected poor countries by increasing fuel and food prices. India’s neighboring countries – Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh – have all sought loans from the International Monetary Fund in recent months to deal with economic troubles brought on by the pandemic and war.
