New Delhi: The US and UK trade representatives who are in Jaipur for the G20 trade meet want the joint communique to acknowledge the adverse impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which could pose a challenge to India in forging consensus on the language, according to the Hindu Businessline.

During the G20 Trade and Investment Ministers’ Meeting in Jaipur, the US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and UK Secretary of State for International Trade Kemi Badenoch both spoke about the economic impact that the war in Ukraine is having on the world, highlighting food inflation, the report said.

While there has been "good progress in the five trade and investment areas, including MSME integration and GVCs", the Hindu Businessline said the forging consensus on the language for the Russia-Ukraine war could pose a challenge for India as the G20 president.

Tai said on Thursday that "trade for growth and prosperity cannot be discussed" without acknowledging the serious impact of Russia’s “premeditated and unprovoked’’ war. She also spoke about the collapse of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which "provided a lifeline for hundreds of millions worldwide facing hunger and spiralling food costs by enabling the delivery of 20 million tonnes of grain to lower and middle-income countries”.

“We call on Russia to reverse its decision, to resume negotiations, and to extend, expand, and fully implement the Initiative immediately for the benefit of the millions of people who depend on Ukrainian grain. Beyond this action, Russia must end its unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine and withdraw all of its forces from Ukraine,” Tai said, according to the report.

Replying to a question on whether disagreement over Russia and Ukraine among G20 countries could hamper the chances of a joint communique at the Trade and Investment meet,

Meanwhile, UK Secretary of State for International Trade Badenoch admitted that forging a consensus on the joint communique is going to be difficult. “From our perspective, in the UK, what we are really emphasising, especially as today is the Ukrainian day of independence, just how significant an impact that war has had on UK trade, on European trade and on global trade,” she said in response to a question, according to Businessline.

Two key G20 meetings, of finance ministers and central bank governors in Gandhinagar; and of foreign ministers meeting in Delhi, have already failed to issue joint communiques because of differences over the Ukraine war.

India has not explicitly criticised Russia for the invasion, unlike many Western countries. The Indian government frequently says the country's position is encapsulated in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement to Russian President Vladimir Putin in September 2022 that "today's era is not an era of war".

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