WASHINGTON (AP) — Top diplomats from the Group of 20 world economies, including envoys from Russia and China, are meeting in Atlanta as they confront deep divisions over multiple wars and other global crises that threaten international security and trade.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will preside over the gathering Friday and Saturday that will set the stage for a summit of G20 leaders hosted by President Donald Trump at his Miami golf club in December.
There appears to be little chance the group will reach consensus on many of the most contentious issues. These include the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the US-Israeli war with Iran, US tariffs and Chinese machinations in the South China Sea. All of these factors have contributed to soaring global fuel costs as well as uncertainty over trade.
U.S. officials say their top priority at the meeting is to resolve disputes 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, China and its smaller neighbors.
But the prospect of a new US military intervention in Iran hangs over the meeting, putting the region, including G20 member Saudi Arabia, under tension.
The Associated Press reported that U.S. officials have asked several Middle Eastern countries and regional allies to prepare for possible new military strikes against Iran after Tuesday midterm elections and the possibility that Iran will retaliate against them.
Some G20 countries have expressed concern that the United States has invited Russia, which will be represented in Atlanta by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, during its intensified attacks on Ukraine. China will be represented by a deputy foreign minister, but most other countries have sent their top diplomat, according to U.S. officials.
Russia’s presence at the G20 summit could upset Western allies
It is unclear whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will accept Trump’s invitation to the December summit in Florida, although U.S. allies in Europe are worried about Russia’s presence, particularly after Trump pushed relations with Ukraine to an even lower level in lift new sanctions against Moscow and temporarily limit logistical and intelligence assistance.
The Russian Foreign Ministry complained of problems obtaining visas for its delegation which were only resolved at the last minute. These complications have given the impression that “not everyone in Washington is happy” with Lavrov’s presence, ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. But he would use the meeting to advocate for “rapid reform of global economic institutions” and to promote Russia’s vision of a “multipolar world”, she said.
Lavrov has visited NATO member states very rarely since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and the resulting harsh sanctions were imposed on Moscow. His presence in Atlanta is likely to cause Trump domestic political problems just days before the midterm elections and disrupt at least the G20’s Western participants, according to Ian Kelly, the U.S. ambassador to Georgia during Trump’s first term.
“It seems politically stupid to invite him,” said Kelly, who now teaches international relations and diplomacy at Northwestern University near Chicago.
Kelly noted that many Republican lawmakers, who already fear losing their congressional majority, are “grumpy” about Trump’s conciliatory approach to Putin. Democrats, he added, could take advantage of the invitation to criticize the Republican Party before Tuesday’s vote.
As for the G20 itself, Lavrov’s participation will almost certainly hurt efforts to produce a unified approach on the Russia-Ukraine war, Kelly said. “It will definitely take away from the message that at least the Western members want to send.”
Ukraine, which is not a member of the G20 but had been invited to previous such meetings, was not invited this year because U.S. officials said they made a conscious choice to include only formal members of the group.
Also missing from the guest list is South Africa, which is embroiled in several bitter conflicts with the Trump administration. South Africa chaired the G20 last year and senior US officials, including Trump and Rubio, avoided meetings it hosted.
Trump administration urges countries to work together in response to global crises
The State Department said Rubio viewed the event as a way “to advance practical cooperation on shared economic and security challenges” and that his priority was for the group to seek solutions to “geopolitical crises contributing to global economic shocks.” He highlighted threats to freedom of navigation, energy and food security, and the preservation of supply chains for essential minerals.
However, some doubt whether G20 members will be able to overcome their substantial differences.
It will be less of a meeting and more of a test, said Elaine Dezenski, director of the Center on Economic and Financial Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank that is hawkish on Iran and other issues.
“The Atlanta meeting is taking place in an environment of growing disagreement over the global economic order, and the right test is whether the United States can build cooperation with its partners when consensus among all members seems out of reach,” she said in a conference call with reporters.
She said the Trump administration has demonstrated a willingness to work — and significant success — outside the G20 framework to build coalitions that advance its foreign policy goals.
“The meeting provides an opportunity to assess whether the United States can translate its shared economic security concerns into more meaningful cooperation with partners, even in the absence of consensus,” she said.
Gn world
