India says 'era is not for war' as G20 finance meet starts

India on Wednesday reiterated its stance on the war in Ukraine that it was time for dialogue and diplomacy, days ahead of the Feb. 24 anniversary of Russia's invasion and as G20 finance officials started a meeting near Bengaluru.

"Today's era is not for war. Democracy, dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward," Anurag Thakur, India's information minister, told a news conference after welcoming delegates to the meeting which ends on Saturday.

The Feb. 22-25 meeting in the Nandi Hills summer retreat near Bengaluru is the first major event of India's G20 presidency. The meeting straddles the Feb. 24 anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the war is likely to be high on the agenda.

India's presidency of the bloc comes at a time when neighbouring South Asian countries Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan have sought a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the past year due to an economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war.

During the event, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) plans to hold a virtual meeting with the World Bank, India, China, Saudi Arabia, the United States and other Group of Seven (G7) nations to try to reach understandings on common standards, principles and definitions on how to restructure distressed country debts.

India also supports a push by the IMF, the World Bank and the United States for the so-called Common Framework (CF) - a G20 initiative launched in 2020 to help poor countries delay debt repayments - to be expanded to include middle-income countries.