The meeting of foreign ministers of 20 major countries (G20) held in the United States exposed conflict from the beginning.
The group photo shoot was canceled due to Europe's opposition to the United States' invitation to Russia. There are clear differences in opinions on responding to current issues in the international community, so it is predicted that it will not be easy to come up with a joint statement.
The G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, USA for two days starting on the 30th (local time). This year, the G20 is chaired by the United States, and the foreign ministers' meeting is a meeting aimed at reaching a preliminary agreement ahead of the G20 summit held in Florida, U.S. in December.
Typically, attendees take group photos at G20 meetings, but U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio canceled the photo shoot, the Associated Press reported.
When European countries protesting against the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that they would leave the meeting and omit the group photo, Secretary Rubio decided to cancel the photo shoot.
At the G20 Finance Ministers' Meeting held at the end of August, when the United States pushed ahead with inviting Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, European ministers insisted that they could not take pictures together, and in the end, Minister Siluanov was omitted from the photo.
After Russia invaded Ukraine, the West adopted an isolation strategy, excluding Russia from the diplomatic arena. However, the United States is being criticized for officially inviting Russian President Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit in December, contributing to President Putin's return to the international community.
The fact that the G20 foreign ministers were unable to take a group photo even after gathering in one place is seen as a clear reflection of the reality of the international community, where it has become difficult to come up with a solution to the global crisis.
Even though a group photo could not be taken, many people are skeptical about whether a joint statement will be reached. At the last G20 Finance Ministers' meeting, the joint statement was canceled due to opposition from China, and a lower-level chairman's statement was issued.
The United States wants this G20 foreign ministers' meeting to focus on trade imbalances and energy and key minerals supply chains. This means seeking joint action among allies and partner countries targeting China.
However, other participating countries consider resolving the crisis through war resolution as a more urgent problem.
There is also a significant difference in the positions of the United States and Europe regarding the end of the war in Ukraine. Ukraine is usually invited to the meeting even if it is not a G20 member, but this time, the United States limited participation to member countries and did not invite it.
The prospect that the United States, which has failed to find an exit strategy for the Iran war, may consider resuming attacks after next week's midterm elections is also a factor complicating discussions at the G20 foreign ministers' meeting.
The Associated Press predicted that the main issues of this meeting include the Ukraine war, Iran war, US tariff policy, and China's operations in the South China Sea, and that "there appears to be little chance of reaching an agreement."
South Africa, a G20 member, was not invited to this meeting. The U.S. Donald Trump administration did not participate in the G20 meeting hosted by South Africa last year.
