G20 talks end without consensus as Ukraine war deepens divisions

G20 foreign ministers are set to conclude their Atlanta talks without a joint communique. Deep divisions over Ukraine, Iran and trade have prevented a common position.Atlanta,Oct 31, 2026 19:52 ISTTop diplomats from the Group of 20 major economies were set to conclude two days of talks on Saturday without agreement on several critical global security issues, according to an Associated Press report carried by news agency Press Trust of India. Divisions over Russia's war with Ukraine dominated the start of the meeting.The G20 will not issue a joint communique and will instead rely on a chairman's statement summarising the talks. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to release the statement at the end of the meeting in Atlanta, diplomats who attended the discussions said.Rubio described the first day of talks as “very productive”. He was due to hold discussions with his counterparts from Australia, India and Japan on Saturday before leading the final G20 event. The meeting on supply chains will examine freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red, Black and South China seas.“Together, I think that we are mapping a vibrant, dynamic, and bold economic future, one that will pioneer new horizons for the entire world,” Rubio said at a reception for participants late on Friday. Rubio opened the talks on Friday with an appeal for unity but later cancelled the traditional group photograph of foreign ministers. European diplomats had objected to the inclusion of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and threatened to boycott the photograph or walk out.Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who was representing his country for the first time as a guest at a G20 meeting, said he was not surprised that the group had failed to reach a consensus. “We have wars going on, and we have participants in those wars around the table, so it's very difficult to agree on a common line,” Sikorski told reporters, according to the PTI-carried report.Other participants, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the private talks, said all sides had agreed to try to overcome their differences. They also agreed to work towards making next month's G20 leaders' summit, hosted by US President Donald Trump in Florida, a success.The diplomats said issuing a chairman's statement had long been the plan because of deep divisions over the Russia-Ukraine war, the US-Israeli war against Iran, US tariffs and Chinese actions in the South China Sea. These issues have contributed to higher global fuel costs and uncertainty over trade.They described the opening session as cordial but said Russia's position on Ukraine remained unchanged, as did its opposition to Poland joining the G20. Differences also emerged over the Trump administration's decision not to invite G20 member South Africa despite objections from other countries.Before the meeting, some G20 countries had raised concerns over the US decision to invite Russia amid intensified attacks on Ukraine. The invitation came after Trump waived fresh sanctions on Moscow and temporarily restricted logistical and intelligence support to Ukraine, pushing US ties with Kyiv to new lows.The US State Department, however, announced on Friday that it had approved a proposed USD 2.1 billion sale of Patriot air defence interceptors to Ukraine.Lavrov said Moscow would not allow Ukraine to pose a “military threat to legitimate security interests of the Russian Federation”.Lavrov has rarely travelled to NATO member countries since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and severe sanctions were imposed on Moscow. It remains unclear whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will accept Trump's invitation to attend the summit at his Miami golf club in December.The possibility of fresh US military action in Iran also overshadowed the G20 meeting and raised concerns across the region, including in G20 member Saudi Arabia. Rubio met Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Friday, as well as Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, whose country has played a key role as a mediator.The Associated Press reported that US officials had asked several Middle Eastern countries and regional allies to prepare for possible renewed military strikes against Iran after the US elections on Tuesday, as well as the possibility of Iranian retaliation.The G20 foreign ministers' meeting is therefore set to end with a chairman's statement rather than a joint communique, as divisions over Ukraine, Iran, tariffs, maritime disputes and South Africa's exclusion prevented the group from reaching a common position.With PTI Inputs- Ends