Diplomatic schism in Atlanta
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio cancelled the G20 "family photo" in Atlanta after several nations refused to pose with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. About one-third of the participating countries made it known they would not appear beside any Russian representatives. Germany’s foreign affairs minister, Johann Wadephul, warned ahead of the Friday session that there would be no photo with European partners and Mr Lavrov together because there is no normality with Russia. UK foreign secretary Ed Miliband promised a similar boycott. He stated, "We do not engage in that way with the Russians and have not for a number of years." Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as "brutal and unjustified" in front of Lavrov. She said the war affected international markets and global food security. A spokesperson for Wong said, "Australia has been clear and consistent: we will not normalise Russia’s brutal and illegal invasion of Ukraine." Rubio opened the talks by telling his colleagues, "We are in a critical moment. We are facing a series of interconnected economic and geopolitical crises." This cancellation reveals the failure of the Trump administration’s attempt to reintegrate Russia and Vladimir Putin.
Disagreements over membership
Diplomats attending the opening session described the talks as cordial, but Russia remains unyielding on Ukraine and opposes Poland’s potential membership in the G20. This disagreement, alongside the Trump administration’s decision to exclude G20 founding member South Africa, will likely prevent foreign ministers from producing a joint communique when the meetings end on Saturday. Polish deputy prime minister and foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said, "We have wars going on and we have participants in those wars around the table, so it’s very difficult to agree a common line." He was speaking at his first time as a guest at a G20 meeting. US officials excluded Ukraine from this year’s meeting to include only formal members, though Poland seeks membership with US support. South Africa is the only African country in the group and faces bitter disputes with the Trump administration. When South Africa chaired the G20 last year, top US officials, including Donald Trump and Marco Rubio, shunned the meetings it hosted. Phindile Kunene, a spokesperson for South African international relations minister Ronald Lamola, said, "We have consistently maintained that our nonparticipation is not voluntary." Participants intend to work toward the success of next month’s G20 leaders’ summit in Florida.
