G20 foreign ministers to end Atlanta meeting without consensus on key issues

ATLANTA (AP) — Top diplomats from the Group of 20 largest world economies will wrap up two days of talks in Atlanta on Saturday without reaching consensus on several critical global security issues after divisions, notably over Russia’s war with Ukraine, overshadowed the start of the meeting.

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

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 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and threatened to boycott or walk out of the snapshot that often kicks off such gatherings.

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, who was representing his country for the first time as a guest at a G20 meeting, said Friday he was not surprised by the failure to reach 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 told reporters.

Other participants in the meetings, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the closed-door talks, 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 President Donald Trump in Florida a success.

These diplomats said a chairman’s statement had long been the plan due to the deep differences among the attendees, including over the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, U.S. tariffs and Chinese machinations in the South China Sea. All have contributed to spikes in the global cost of fuel as well as uncertainty about trade.

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.

Russia’s presence at G20 gathering roils Europeans

Some G20 countries had already expressed concern that the U.S. invited Russia during its heightened attacks on Ukraine, especially after Trump pushed ties with Ukraine to new lows by waiving fresh sanctions on Moscow and temporarily limiting logistical and intelligence assistance.

However, the State Department announced Friday that it had approved a proposed $2.1 billion sale of Patriot air defense interceptors for Ukraine.

Lavrov said Moscow will not allow a situation in which Ukraine poses a “military threat to legitimate security interests of the Russian Federation.”

Lavrov has traveled only infrequently to NATO member states since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and resulting severe sanctions were imposed on Moscow, and it is unclear if Russian President Vladimir Putin will accept Trump’s invitation to attend the G20 leaders summit at his Miami golf club in December.

The Iran war hangs over the G20 event

The U.S. 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 will include discussions on Iran, Russia-Ukraine and China and its smaller neighbors.

But hanging over the meeting is the prospect of new U.S. military intervention in Iran, which has put the region, including G20 member Saudi Arabia, on edge. Rubio met on the sidelines with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, as well as Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, whose country has been a key mediator.

The Associated Press has reported that U.S. officials have told several Middle East countries and regional allies to be prepared for potential renewed military strikes against Iran after Tuesday’s midterm elections and the possibility that Iran will retaliate against them.