Foreign ministers from the G20 top economies gathered in South Africa’s Johannesburg, amid geopolitical rifts, tensions over the Ukraine war and with the top US diplomat a conspicuous absentee.
The G20, a grouping of 19 countries as well as the European Union and the African Union that represent some 85 percent of global GDP and three-quarters of trade, is deeply divided on key issues from Russia’s war in Ukraine to climate change. South Africa, which currently holds the G20 presidency, opened the group’s first major meeting of the year on Thursday.
President Cyril Ramaphosa told G20 foreign ministers that multilateralism and international law were key to solving world crises, while sounding the alarm about the group’s deepening divisions.
“It is critical that the principles of the UN Charter, multilateralism and international law should remain at the centre of all our endeavours. It should be the glue that keeps us together,” Ramaphosa said in his opening remarks.
“Yet there is a lack of consensus among major powers, including in the G20, on how to respond to these issues of global significance.” The strife was threatening “an already fragile global coexistence”, Ramaphosa said.
The United States did not attend this group meeting because Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this month rejected as “very bad” the previously agreed agenda of “diversity, equity and inclusion”.
US President Donald Trump then cut aid to South Africa amid a dispute with the nation over its efforts to redress historical racial injustices in land ownership, and its genocide case against US ally Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attended the meeting, alongside officials from EU nations that have pledged continued support for Ukraine and condemned Russia’s aggression.
