PRC blocks G20 summit communiqué condemning Russian invasion of Ukraine

China has backed Russia at the summit of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors and has refused to sign a general communiqué condemning Russian military aggression in Ukraine, Reuters has reported.

The summit organised by India is likely to end without a general communiqué due to disagreements over Russia's war against Ukraine," the report said.

As the agency notes, negotiations are hard going and foreign delegations are considering two ways out, especially as India does not want to see the word "war" in a common statement.

It could be a final document that would contain nothing specific and would not list Russia as the aggressor, or a communiqué condemning the war could be signed by 18 countries, excluding Russia itself and China," Reuters wrote.

Note that India and China were among the countries that voted overwhelmingly on 23 February when the UN voted to demand that Moscow withdraw its troops from Ukraine and cease hostilities.