G20 Diplomats End Atlanta Talks Without a Joint Statement

Foreign ministers from the Group of 20 economies ended two days of talks in Atlanta on Saturday without agreeing on a joint statement covering disputes including Russia's war in Ukraine, according to diplomats who attended the meetings. Instead, the gathering will issue a statement from the president summarizing the discussions, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio planned to release at the close of the meeting.

The disagreement over Ukraine ran through the agenda. Rubio told reporters he would not pretend the group was close to solutions everyone accepts, but said countries were working together on supply chains and critical minerals. On X on Saturday, Rubio wrote that trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait must stay open to commerce, and that supply chains for critical minerals must keep expanding.

The meeting also produced no traditional group photo. Rubio cancelled it after European diplomats objected to the attendance of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and threatened to boycott or walk out. Poland's foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, attending his country's first G20 meeting as a guest, told reporters the lack of consensus did not surprise him. "We have wars going on, and we have participants in those wars sitting at the table, so it is very difficult to agree on a common line," he said.

Disagreements also covered Russia's opposition to Poland joining the G20, the Trump administration's decision not to invite South Africa despite objections from other members, and Chinese actions in the South China Sea, the diplomats said. They described the opening session as cordial and said all parties agreed to work toward making next month's summit in Florida a success.

The State State Department announced Friday that it had approved a $2.1 billion proposal to sell Patriot air defense interceptors to Ukraine. The meeting took place as the United States told Middle Eastern countries and regional allies to prepare for possible new military strikes on Iran after Tuesday's legislative elections.