President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo appealed to his fellow Group of 20 leaders on Tuesday to show restraint and not allow the world to “fall into another cold war”, as he pushed for the G20 Summit in Bali to deliver results despite the polarizing effects of the war in Ukraine.

Expectations for the two-day summit to deliver concrete results have been limited in light of the lack of consensus in previous G20 ministerial meetings. Member states have been split between those seeking to condemn Russia for its belligerence and those that are worried about the effects such a statement might have.

But Jokowi sought to strike a chord with both sides, warning them about what was at stake if the war continued and the G20 failed to deliver on policies affecting billions of people in the developing world.

“We must end the war. If the war does not end, it will be difficult for the world to move forward,” Jokowi said in his opening remarks, delivered without direct reference to either Russia or Ukraine.

He also called on G20 leaders to use their wisdom and take responsibility for all the “people of the world”, while acknowledging the “tremendous effort” it took to get them to sit together despite their differences in opinion.

“Today, the eyes of the world are fixed upon our meeting. Are we going to achieve success, or will we add more to our failures? As I see it, the G20 has to succeed, and it cannot fail,” the President said.

“We should not divide the world into parts. We must not allow the world to fall into another cold war.”

Negotiated text

As president of the G20 this year, Indonesia has been hopeful that the forum can serve as a catalyst for an inclusive economic recovery, as the President describes it, and deliver “concrete achievements” amid a tumultuous year.

The group has already announced a number of deliverables, including the establishment of a fund to prepare for future pandemics, increased assistance for low-income countries through the Resilience and Sustainability Trust and support for the sustainable energy transition through the Bali Compact, which lists the governing principles for achieving net-zero emissions.

“We are not here just to talk, but to take concrete steps,” Jokowi said.

The Bali summit marks the first time the G20 leaders have met since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, which Moscow continues to describe as a “special military operation”.

The ensuing war and worries over record-high inflation, food and energy security have loomed large over the meeting, as negotiators continue to hash out the highly anticipated G20 leaders’ declaration.

Prior to the summit’s opening, European Council President Charles Michel claimed that G20 officials had reached an agreement on the text of the communiqué the night before, which he described as a “positive” development after days of wrangling over how to address the war in Ukraine.

He did not detail what the text said, but a draft declaration obtained by The Jakarta Post stated that “most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine” but that “there were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions”.

Michel added that any statement would still need to be confirmed by G20 leaders.

The draft statement also quoted several United Nations resolutions deploring Russian aggression and stressed that “today’s era must not be of war”, echoing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s words to Russian President Vladimir Putin in September.

Measured responses

In a video at the summit’s opening session, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed “leaders of the G19” in a snub to Russia and reiterated demands for Moscow to withdraw its troops from his country.

“I want this aggressive Russian war to end justly and on the basis of the UN charter and international law,” he said. Zelensky added that Ukraine should not be offered peace deals that would compromise its “conscience, sovereignty, territory and independence”.

Meanwhile, Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping both voiced concern about the war during the session, albeit without breaking from their previous defense of Russia.

Xi warned against the “weaponization” of food and energy, adding that he opposed nuclear war in all circumstances.

“We must firmly oppose politicization, instrumentalization and weaponization of food and energy problems,” he said in a statement issued by China’s foreign ministry.

Modi said it was necessary to recognize that the UN had failed as a multilateral institution, putting greater pressure on the G20 to find solutions. He said it was time for G20 leaders to find a way to return to the path of ceasefire and diplomacy, Reuters reported.

Separately, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was sent to Bali after Putin decided not to come, called for the lifting of what he said were discriminatory obstacles on global energy markets and the establishment of a fair dialogue between energy suppliers and consumers at the G20 Summit.

“We have called against the politicization of these issues, first and foremost, the use of energy issues in settling political scores, as the EU has been demonstrating over years in regard to the Nord Stream pipelines,” Lavrov said, as quoted by Interfax news agency.

The G20 leaders are set to convene for a second day of discussions on Wednesday, at the end of which a leader’s declaration is expected.

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