Pressed by the United States to act, agriculture ministers from most of the world’s leading economies condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and said in a statement that Moscow should allow Ukrainian grain to flow through the Black Sea unimpeded. Agriculture undersecretary Xochitl Torres Small said on Tuesday the expression of world support for Ukraine was a U.S. priority at the meeting of G20 agriculture ministers in India over the weekend.
China and Russia resisted the language—two paragraphs in a 12-page “outcome document”—but the Biden administration insisted on it, said Torres Small, who led the U.S. delegation. “This was a priority for us,” she said during a teleconference. “It was important to the United States.” International bodies often operate on consensus, but in this instance it was not full consensus.
“Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy….There were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions,” said the statement, which acknowledged “the G20 is not the forum to resolve security issues.” The statement said Black Sea grain exports were an important way to reduce food insecurity worldwide.
Russia has repeatedly objected to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, negotiated by Turkey and the UN, as unfair. It said over the weekend that the grain deal could not be extended under current conditions past July 17, when the latest version of the agreement expires. Moscow says economic sanctions imposed by the West unduly inhibit exports of its grain and fertilizers.
The Group of 20 is composed of the world’s 20 leading economies—19 countries plus the EU—and describes itself as the premier forum for international economic cooperation.
India, which holds the G20 presidency this year, facilitated the discussion of the language involving Russia and Ukraine, said Torres Small. “Everyone agreed India worked very hard” in trying to develop consensus, she said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India was to meet with President Biden at the White House on Thursday.
Torres Small is awaiting a Senate vote on her nomination to become deputy agriculture secretary, the No. 2 post at USDA. A former U.S. representative, she has been agriculture undersecretary for rural development since October 2021.
To read the statement by G20 agriculture ministers, click here.