G20 delegates have "reached a compromise" on the wording to describe Russia's war on Ukraine and circulated a reworked draft of the joint declaration among member states, news agency PTI reported citing diplomatic sources.
The development comes as the leaders from the world's most powerful countries came together in New Delhi for the G20 Summit being held today and tomorrow.
The 20-nation bloc is deeply divided over the war in Ukraine, with Western nations pushing for strong condemnation of Russia while others are demanding a focus on broader economic issues.
India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, had on Friday, said that the joint declaration was "almost ready" and would be presented to G20 leaders over the course of the two-day summit.
According to an earlier draft of the summit declaration reviewed by Reuters, negotiators were unable to resolve disagreements over the wording on the war in Ukraine, leaving it to the leaders to reach a compromise if possible.
The 38-page draft that was circulated among members left the "geopolitical situation" paragraph blank, while it had agreed on 75 other paragraphs covering a range of issues.
The Reuters report said sherpas, or country representatives, have reached a compromise on the language to describe the Ukraine conflict for the final communique. Specific details are currently unavailable, but it may resemble the language used in the 2022 summit's communique in Indonesia, it said. That document noted that while most nations condemned Russia's invasion, there were also divergent viewpoints.
A lack of consensus on the text on Ukraine may result in the summit ending without a joint declaration, which will be a first for the grouping.
(With agencies inputs)