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President Biden and other world leaders gathered in New Delhi for the G20 summit signed off on a faint denunciation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine —  drawing fire from critics across the political spectrum.

“All states must refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition,” leaders at the G20 summit in New Delhi, a meeting of the world’s largest economies, said in their annual joint declaration.

The carefully worded statement avoided any condemnation of Russia’s aggression – repeatedly referring to the conflict as the “war in Ukraine” while shunning terms like “invasion.”

And in a concession to gain support from Moscow, which signed on, the statement noted that “there were different views and assessments of the situation” in Ukraine.

Critics slammed the flaccid language.

“That’s a huge win for Russia,” Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) told The Post. “The fact that you still don’t have members in the G20 who are willing to condemn [Russia] for their invasion … shows that the international support just isn’t there” for Ukraine.


  President Biden and other world leaders at the G20 summit in India released a statement speaking out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photo by EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images President Biden and other world leaders at the G20 summit in India released a statement speaking out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photo by EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

“I have about as much confidence in Biden’s ability to strengthen us with our allies as I do with him getting up the stairs of Air Force 1,” Mills said.

Svitlana Romanko of the pro-Ukraine group Razom We Stand denounced the statement as “weak” and “cowardly by not even mentioning Russia or its ongoing war crimes,” Politico reported.

Jim Sciutto of CNN – normally a Biden ally – also pooh-poohed the communique.


  President Biden with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. ZUMAPRESS.com President Biden with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. ZUMAPRESS.com

“Remarkable a full-scale invasion of a sovereign state can muster only this combination of statements,” Sciutto wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan defended the statement, calling it “consequential.”

“From our perspective, [the statement] does a very good job of standing up for the principle that states cannot use force to seek territorial acquisition,” Sullivan told CNN.


  President Biden standing with world leaders at the G20 in New Delhi. POOL/AFP via Getty Images President Biden standing with world leaders at the G20 in New Delhi. POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The annual summit’s communique— which took days of negotiation to hammer out — also addressed climate financing, cryptocurrency, and green energy initiatives, including a gradual drawdown in coal power and an agreement to provide $4 trillion of low-cost financing yearly for the expected energy transition.

Images from the summit showed Biden chatting up British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre and glad-handing with other world leaders, including the summit host, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Biden shared a warm handshake with Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, flashing a big grin at the man who the president once swore to make an international “pariah.”


  A joint statement was approved by the leaders of all participating nations after days of tough negotiations. POOL/AFP via Getty Images A joint statement was approved by the leaders of all participating nations after days of tough negotiations. POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin skipped the forum, which typically serves as a chance for world leaders to meet and discuss issues of mutual concern.

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