G20 threatened by geopolitical fractures, leaders warn

The G20’s role in fixing economic crises is threatened by geopolitical fractures, leaders warned yesterday at a summit in South Africa boycotted by the United States.

European leaders attending the G20 summit -- the first held in Africa -- huddled on its sidelines to push back at a unilateral plan by US President Donald Trump aimed at ending the war in Ukraine on terms favouring Russia.

In a joint statement issued with Canada and Japan, they said Trump’s plan needs “additional work” and some of its points required “the consent of EU and NATO members”.

Speaking at the opening of the summit, one of the statement’s signatories, French President Emmanuel Macron said: “We are struggling to resolve major crises together around this table.”

He warned that, given fissures in international cooperation, “the G20 may be coming to the end of a cycle”. “There’s no doubt, the road ahead is tough,” agreed British Prime Minister Keir Starmer -- who also signed the statement -- adding: “We need to find ways to play a constructive role again today in the face of the world challenges.”

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said “unilateralism and protectionism are rampant” and “many people are pondering what exactly is happening to global solidarity”.

But the summit’s host, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, downplayed Trump’s absence and argued the G20 remained key for international cooperation.

“The G20 underscores the value of the relevance of multilateralism. It recognises that the challenges that we face can only be resolved through cooperation, collaboration and partnership,” Ramaphosa said. The Johannesburg summit was undermined by the American boycott, and China’s Li stood in for an absent President Xi Jinping, while Russia sent a Kremlin official, Maxim Oreshkin, instead of President Vladimir Putin, who is wanted under an International Criminal Court warrant.