The G20鈥檚 role in fixing economic crises is threatened by geopolitical fractures and competition, leaders warned Saturday at a summit in South Africa boycotted by the United States.
European leaders attending the G20 summit鈥攖he first held in Africa鈥攁lso scrambled on the sidelines to respond to a unilateral plan pushed by US president Donald Trump to end the war in Ukraine on terms favouring Russia.
鈥榃e are struggling to resolve major crises together around this table鈥� and 鈥榯he G20 may be coming to the end of a cycle,鈥� French president Emmanuel Macron warned fellow leaders at the start of the summit.
鈥楾here鈥檚 no doubt, the road ahead is tough,鈥� agreed British prime minister Keir Starmer, adding: 鈥榃e need to find ways to play a constructive role again today in the face of the world challenges.鈥�
Chinese premier Li Qiang said 鈥榰nilateralism and protectionism are rampant鈥� and 鈥榤any people are pondering what exactly is happening to global solidarity鈥�.
The summit鈥檚 host, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, downplayed Trump鈥檚 absence and argued the G20 remained key for international cooperation.
鈥楾he G20 underscores the value of the relevance of multilateralism. It recognises that the challenges that we face can only be resolved through cooperation, collaboration and partnership,鈥� Ramaphosa said.
The G20 comprises 19 countries plus the European Union and the African Union, and accounts for 85 per cent of the world鈥檚 GDP and two-thirds of its population.
But the Johannesburg summit was undermined by the American boycott, and China鈥檚 Li stood in for an absent president Xi Jinping, while Russia sent a Kremlin official, Maxim Oreshkin, instead of president Vladimir Putin, who is wanted under an International Criminal Court warrant.
The leaders present adopted a G20 summit declaration early in their meeting that covered climate, energy, debt sustainability and a critical-minerals pact鈥攁nd a joint call for a 鈥榡ust鈥� peace in Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and the 鈥極ccupied Palestinian Territory鈥�.
Argentina鈥檚 foreign minister Pablo Quirno鈥攕tanding in for absent president Javier Milei, a Trump ally鈥攐bjected to 鈥榟ow certain geopolitical issues are framed in the document鈥�, specifically the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
But Ramaphosa noted that did not block the declaration鈥檚 adoption by participants, who also included Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
As soon as the opening ceremony was over, Starmer, Macron and German chancellor Friedrich Merz rushed into a meeting to discuss Trump鈥檚 plan for Ukraine.
That huddle was soon expanded to include other leaders from Europe, and from Australia, Canada and Japan, an EU official said.
鈥榃e are working on making the US plan something more able to be applied, based on previous dialogue,鈥� a European diplomatic source told AFP.
Sources said there had been some communication with Washington, but no plans for any leaders to fly over to see Trump.
On Friday, after a call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, Macron, Starmer and Merz stressed that any plan for Ukraine needed the 鈥榡oint support and consensus of European partners and NATO allies鈥�.
Trump has said he wants Kyiv to accept his 28-point proposals鈥攚hich involve ceding territory to Russia and cutting the size of Ukraine鈥檚 military鈥攂y Thursday.
While the United States skipped the Johannesburg summit because it said it viewed its priorities鈥攊ncluding on trade and on climate鈥攁s running counter to its policies, it still intended to take up the G20 baton for the next gathering.
Trump plans to stage that summit in 2026 at a Florida golf club he owns.
Washington has said it will send the US charge d鈥檃ffaires from its embassy in South Africa only for the handover ceremony on Sunday.
But South Africa鈥檚 foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, said it would need to send a higher-ranking official of the 鈥榬ight level鈥�.
鈥楾he president of the Republic of South Africa will not be handing over to the charge d鈥檃ffaires from the US,鈥� he said.