FROM PAGE 12

to work with all parties and push for a positive outcome at the summit.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks after a media report said Sunak blamed China for delaying an agreement on various issues, including Ukraine.

Sunak will urge Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “call out” Russia over its invasion and use its clout to help end the war, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

The hardened stance on the war has prevented agreement on even a single communique at the ministerial meetings during India’s G20 presidency so far this year, leaving it to the leaders to find a way around, if possible.

Modi’s government is projecting India’s presidency of the group and the summit as a showcase for the country’s fast-growing economy and its rising position in the geo-political pecking order.

New Delhi has been decked up for the gathering with a brand new summit venue, fountains, flowerpots and illumination along major thoroughfares, alongside thousands of armed security personnel standing guard.

More than a hundred Tibetan refugees staged a protest away from the city centre yesterday, demanding that the “occupation” of their country by China be discussed during the summit.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who is in New Delhi ahead of Biden’s arrival, earlier said Washington is willing to work with India to help craft a communique at the end of the summit but it would be a challenge.

“I know the negotiators are discussing it, and working hard to do so and we stand ready certainly to work with India to try to craft a communique that successfully addresses this concern,” Yellen told reporters at a briefing.

The most important thing that can be done to support global economic growth is for Russia to end its brutal war in Ukraine, she said.