Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has praised the G20 summit in New Delhi for avoiding negative references to his country over its invasion of Ukraine in a joint declaration.

"We were able to prevent the West's attempts to 'Ukrainize' the summit agenda," said Lavrov, who represented Moscow at the summit in the absence of President Vladimir Putin.

"The text doesn't mention Russia at all," he said.

That omission prompted Kyiv to say the G20 had "nothing to be proud of" regarding the declaration.

But Lavrov's opinion was apparently shared by others.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose country will take the bloc's presidency in December, said "We cannot let geopolitical issues sequester the G20 agenda of discussions," adding:  "We have no interest in a divided G20. We need peace and cooperation instead of conflict."

Russia has been conducting a full-scale invasion of Ukraine since February 2022.

Lavrov's comments seem to indicate, however, that Moscow considers that its actions do not clash with the denunciation of the use of force for territorial gain contained in the joint statement.