G20’s Ukraine stance a compromise, says Netherland PM Mark Rutte

Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte called the Ukraine stance of the G20’s Delhi declaration a “compromise,” saying it would have been very different had he written it.

“That is always the case when a multilateral team like the G20 comes together…I think it was good that India was able to broker a declaration by the 20, by all the members,” he said.

The PM was speaking to the media in Bengaluru as a part of his official visit to India to attend the G20 summit. In a massive diplomatic win, India got the nations to adopt the Delhi declaration on Saturday, a day before the official conclusion of the summit. The declaration overcame major differences on viewpoints over the Russia-Ukraine war, with Indian PM Narendra Modi calling for “Ending the global trust deficit.”


Netherlands was an invitee for G20 summit under India.

In a marked diversion from the tenor of the G20’s Bali declaration on the topic last year, the Delhi declaration avoided explicit criticism of Russia and focused on the human suffering and negative impacts of the war, on “global food and energy security, supply chains, macro-financial stability, inflation and growth.”

Sticking to the United Nations’ charter, the declaration said nations must refrain from using force or threat to impeach another country’s territorial sovereignty. It also said the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons was “inadmissible.”

The Delhi declaration praised the Black Sea Grain Initiative, calling for its full implementation. The 2022 initiative is an agreement between Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Nations to allow safe exports of grains from Ukraine into the global market to avoid shortage. The deal expired in July 2023 and hasn’t been renewed since.