Foreign ministers from the world’s 20 largest economies gather in Atlanta on Friday for a two-day meeting under the United States’ presidency of the G20, with the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East expected to dominate discussions despite Washington’s wish to focus on trade and supply chains.
The United States has sought to steer its allies towards trade imbalances and towards building a coalition to counter China’s control of critical minerals. A State Department official told reporters on Thursday that the Atlanta meeting would focus on energy and supply-chain challenges, seen as crucial to the development of artificial intelligence. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is hosting the gathering, has championed the Pax Silica initiative, aimed at uniting countries concerned about China’s dominance in rare earths and other critical minerals.
The tensions were visible before talks even began. The US has not invited South Africa to the ministerial, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is attending. Even the traditional G20 family photograph has caused difficulty, with some European officials suggesting two separate pictures, one with Lavrov and one without.
Experts and diplomats cited by Reuters expect little prospect of complete agreement on the larger strategic questions. Heidi Crebo-Rediker, a former chief economist at the State Department, said there was now “much more of a split than we’ve ever had”, and that G7 countries no longer arrive at the G20 having first agreed a coordinated platform. Elaine Dezenski, a former US official who heads the Center on Economic and Financial Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said ad hoc statements by smaller groups of countries could prove the way forward, pointing to a US-led statement on excess industrial capacity that some G20 trade ministers signed after the group failed to reach consensus.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she would call for increased support for Ukraine and for progress on accountability measures through the Special Tribunal and Claims Commission. “Russia must be accountable,” she wrote on X on 29 October.
Other flashpoints may also weigh on discussions, including President Donald Trump’s recent decisions on Russia, among them a deal to buy diesel and the waiving of some sanctions, and Ukraine’s problems with its Starshield satellite services. One G20 diplomat, who declined to be named, said some countries still negotiating trade agreements with the US, including Canada, Mexico and India, may seek to keep a low profile.
The meeting takes place a day after Commerce Department data showed the US economy grew at its fastest pace in a year in the third quarter, buoyed by AI investment despite higher oil prices from the war in the Middle East. It also falls just days before the 3 November midterm elections, and amid reports that the US might launch fresh attacks on Iran. Ukraine has not been invited to join the ministers in Atlanta, although Trump is pushing hard for a ceasefire in Russia’s war in Ukraine, and Russia, Ukraine and the US are expected to hold technical-level trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi next month.
Note on sourcing: the expectations of a divided meeting described above are assessments by the experts and diplomats cited by Reuters, not a concluded outcome; the meeting was still under way when this article was written, and no joint statement had been agreed. The State Department official said four G20 ministerial-level meetings held this year had achieved some consensus, but that more work was needed before the leaders’ summit in Miami on 14-16 December.
Sources: Reuters, “Rifts over wars in Ukraine, Middle East loom over G20 meeting in US”, https://www.reuters.com/world/china/rifts-over-wars-ukraine-middle-east-loom-over-g20-meeting-us-2026-10-30/
