G20 summit to end with no consensus on critical issues

Top diplomats from the G20 were yesterday to wrap up two days of talks in Atlanta, Georgia, without reaching a consensus on several critical global security issues due to divisions, notably over Russia’s war with Ukraine.

As a result, the group would not release a joint communique, but instead rely on a chairman’s statement summarizing the talks, which US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was to release at the conclusion, diplomats who attended said.

The meeting was still ongoing as of press time last night.

Atlanta police officers stand guard along a street as a sign directs attendees to the G20 foreign ministers meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, on Friday.

Photo: AFP

Rubio, who opened the talks with an appeal for unity, had canceled the traditional group photo of the foreign ministers on Friday after European diplomats objected to the inclusion of Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov and threatened to boycott or walk out of the snapshot that often starts such gatherings.

Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Radoslaw Sikorski said he was not surprised by the failure to reach a consensus.

“We have wars going on, and we have participants in those wars around the table, so it’s very difficult to agree on a common line,” he said.

Other participants in the meetings, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said all had agreed to try to overcome their differences despite the long odds and to work to make next month’s G20 leaders summit hosted by US President Donald Trump in Florida a success.

A chairman’s statement had long been the plan due to the deep differences among the attendees, including over the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the US-Israeli war against Iran, US tariffs and Chinese machinations in the South China Sea, they said.

They described the opening session as cordial, but said Russia’s position on Ukraine is unyielding — as is its opposition to Poland’s membership in the G20.

And they said the disagreements also include the Trump administration’s not inviting G20 member South Africa over the objections of others.

The US has said a top priority for the meeting is resolving differences over issues related to freedom of navigation, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea, the Black Sea and the South China Sea.

The topic was to include discussions on Iran, Russia-Ukraine and China and its smaller neighbors.