West failed to promote anti-Russia agenda of India’s G20 summit: Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the West failed to make the recent meeting of the Group of 20 (G20) in the Indian capital of New Delhi revolve around the Ukraine conflict thanks to the consolidated position of developing countries.

Lavrov, who headed the Russian delegation at the G20 summit, made the statement at a press conference on Sunday as he praised India for hosting the gathering and the efforts of the Global South countries not to allow the international event to be overshadowed by a Western-led anti-Russia agenda.

Before the final declaration of the summit was released, the paragraph on Ukraine was reported to have been a major stumbling block as Western countries pushed for a strong condemnation of Moscow’s 18-month-long war with Kiev, an approach that faced opposition from other members.

“As a result, they stood up to protect their legitimate interests,” which made it possible “to prevent the West from once again Ukrainizing the entire agenda” of the summit and diverting attention from the urgent problems facing emerging economies, Lavrov said.

The top Russian diplomat pointed out that the final declaration “mentions the Ukraine crisis, but only in the context of the need to resolve all conflicts” in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter.

Lavrov said the G20 must focus on economic and financial issues, and praised emerging countries, which prevented the meeting from turning into a “politicized club.”

US to provide controversial depleted uranium weapons to Ukraine

The United States says it is sending depleted uranium ammunition to Kiev, despite global concerns about serious health problems caused by such ammunition.

The final G20 declaration, which was adopted on Saturday, “highlighted the human suffering and negative added impacts of the war in Ukraine with regard to global food and energy security, supply chains, macro-financial stability, inflation and growth.”

The declaration also acknowledged that some G20 members had differing views on the hostilities between Moscow and Kiev.

Kiev has received more than $43 billion from the US in the form of weapons systems like howitzers and millions of rounds of ammunition, including widely-banned cluster munitions, since last February when Russia started a "special military operation" in Ukraine.

The Kremlin says the West and NATO are playing a direct role in the Ukraine conflict by pouring advanced weapons and military equipment into the country, warning that NATO weapons are “legitimate targets” for its armed forces.

Moscow has frequently warned that the continued supply of Western arms and military equipment to the Ukrainian military would only prolong the war and add to the suffering of the Ukrainian people.

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