NEW DELHI – On Sunday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrapped up a Group of 20 (G-20) summit that downplayed deep divisions over the war in Ukraine and climate change, but gave him a moment in the diplomatic spotlight.

G-20 leaders, who have long struggled to agree on much, have been deeply split over the Ukraine war since Moscow’s invasion in 2022. The grouping brings together Russia and China, as well as some of Ukraine’s most ardent backers.

Russian President Vladimir Putin skipped the summit entirely to dodge political criticism.

Facing the prospect of a major diplomatic embarrassment, host country India pressed members to agree to a common statement on Saturday that denounced the use of force for territorial gain.

However, the statement shied away from direct criticism of Russia.

Kyiv said that the G-20 had “nothing to be proud of” with its declaration.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who stood in for Mr Putin at the meeting, claimed a diplomatic win on Sunday.

“We were able to prevent the West’s attempts to ‘Ukrainise’ the summit agenda,” the veteran diplomat said, dubbing the two-day gathering a “success”.

“The text doesn’t mention Russia at all.”

On Sunday, India formally handed over the G-20 presidency to Brazil.

Mr Modi completed the transition by handing over the ceremonial gavel of the presidency to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

India has held the presidency of the G-20 since Dec 1, 2022, when it took over from Indonesia. It will hold the position until Nov 30.

During the two-day summit, the bloc adopted a consensus declaration that made commitments on several issues, including food and energy security, climate change and global debt vulnerabilities.

On Sunday, Mr Modi also proposed a “virtual summit” of the grouping at the end of November to assess the status of the suggestions and proposals put forth by members, and determine “how their progress can be accelerated”.

“In that session, we can review the topics (that were) decided during this summit,” he said, adding that details would be shared with members.

Mr Lula said “geopolitical issues” should not derail the grouping’s discussions.

“We cannot let geopolitical issues sequester the G-20 agenda of discussions,” Mr Lula said, in an implicit reference to the G-20 leaders’ wrangling over the Ukraine war.

“We have no interest in a divided G-20. We need peace and cooperation instead of conflict.”

Indian civil servant Amitabh Kant wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the compromise text on Ukraine had involved “over 200 hours of non-stop negotiations, 300 bilateral meetings (and) 15 drafts”.

But despite meeting in what the European Union’s climate monitor says is likely to be the hottest year in human history, the leaders failed to agree to a phase-out of fossil fuels, which a United Nations report from the previous day had considered indispensable to achieving net-zero emissions.

Instead, the leaders backed a target of tripling global renewable energy capacity by 2030, while committing to only a “phasedown” of coal “in line with national circumstances”.

G-20 members Russia and Saudi Arabia are major oil exporters.

Meanwhile, coal consumption is rising in China and India, which are already the world’s biggest consumers of the fuel.

‘People’s G-20’

Mr Modi, who painted the summit as India’s diplomatic coming of age and is pushing for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, celebrated the accession of the 55-member African Union to the G-20.

The G-20 previously comprised 19 countries and the EU. The bloc represented 85 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product, with South Africa its only member state from the African continent.

Mr Modi has sought to position New Delhi as a voice for the Global South and said the move turned the grouping into a “people’s G-20”.

Meanwhile, Mr Lula said Mr Putin was free to attend the 2024 G-20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.

This is despite Brazil being a signatory to the International Criminal Court, which has issued a warrant for the Russian leader’s arrest for war crimes.

“If I’m the president of Brazil and if he comes to Brazil, there’s no way that he will be arrested,” he told Indian news network Firstpost on Saturday.

Others came together on the summit sidelines, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan holding face-to-face talks with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Sunday, following a decade-long rift between the two countries.

World leaders had earlier joined Mr Modi to pay their respects to revered Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi, taking off their shoes at the site of his cremation, where normal footwear is forbidden as a mark of respect.

Like Mr Modi, many walked barefoot on the rain-dampened site – including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron – while others, including US President Joe Biden, opted for slippers.

After a rendition of a Hindu devotional hymn, the leaders stood for a moment’s silence before leaving wreaths at the marble plinth, where an eternal flame commemorates Gandhi’s memory. AFP, REUTERS