The G20 leaders' summit opened in Johannesburg, South Africa on Saturday under a cloud of diplomatic tension, with the United States notably absent and a growing rift between Washington and European allies over Ukraine policy dominating discussions.
U.S. Absence and European Concerns
President Donald Trump's administration is boycotting the summit, the first G20 gathering to be hosted in Africa, with official statements indicating that South Africa's priorities of boosting global trade cooperation and climate action run counter to U.S. policy. Despite the physical absence, Trump's influence loomed large following his surprise unilateral proposal for ending the war in Ukraine, which European leaders say aligns closely with Russian objectives.
The American president has given Ukraine a limited window to accept his administration's 28-point plan, telling Fox News Radio that "Thursday is, we think, an appropriate time" for acceptance. This development prompted an urgent call between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
European Unity on Ukraine
European leaders moved quickly to present a united front against the American proposal. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen stated that European leaders would use sideline meetings at the summit to make clear that "there should be nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine." She announced that a follow-up meeting would occur at the EU-Africa Union summit in Angola on Monday and Tuesday.
The European leaders emphasized that any peace plan for Ukraine requires the "joint support and consensus of European partners and NATO allies," directly challenging the unilateral nature of the American proposal. This positioning sets the stage for potentially significant diplomatic clashes as the summit progresses.
Climate Deadlock and South African Optimism
Another significant challenge facing the summit is the deadlock in climate negotiations from the COP30 talks in Brazil. Those discussions, meant to conclude on Friday after nearly two weeks, threatened to extend indefinitely as petro-states resisted including fossil fuel phaseout language in the final text.
Despite these headwinds, host nation South Africa maintained an optimistic outlook. President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed hope that the summit would achieve backing for South Africa's G20 objectives, which include:
- Reducing global economic inequalities
- Securing debt relief for low-income countries
- Obtaining support for clean-energy transitions
- Establishing a critical minerals pact
"As South Africa, we are hoping that we will have the leaders' declaration adopted, which will set a new and continuing agenda for the world, particularly the G20," Ramaphosa said late Friday, bristling at the U.S. boycott while projecting confidence in the summit's potential outcomes.
The gathering brings together numerous world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, all navigating the complex geopolitical landscape shaped by American absence and competing visions for global cooperation.
