{"id":3557,"date":"2026-10-30T23:04:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T18:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=3557"},"modified":"2026-10-30T23:04:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T18:04:10","slug":"rubio-hosts-g20-ministers-as-iran-ukraine-wars-divide-members","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=3557","title":{"rendered":"Rubio hosts G20 ministers as Iran, Ukraine wars divide members"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio opened talks on Friday with G20 counterparts, including Russia\u2019s Sergei Lavrov, in meetings set to be fractious as wars in Ukraine and Iran, alongside surging energy costs, fan discord.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The foreign ministers\u2019 meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, takes place just days before crucial US midterm elections, setting the stage for a December G20 leaders\u2019 summit in Miami at President Donald Trump\u2019s Doral resort.<\/p>\n

But ongoing conflicts have deepened rifts even as the United States seeks to focus on economic growth, trade imbalances and supply chain challenges in areas like energy and critical minerals.<\/p>\n

Already, a traditional family photo planned for Friday morning was called off shortly before the two-day meeting started.<\/p>\n

This came amid confusion over whether there would be two family photos, with and without Lavrov, diplomatic sources told AFP<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Some European officials have opted not to appear in photos with Russian delegations in earlier G20 meetings this year.<\/p>\n

Rubio warned at an opening plenary session that the world faces \u201cinterconnected economic and geopolitical crises, many of which pose severe threats\u201d to the global economy.<\/p>\n

He urged the G20 to work together against threats including strains to global energy and food supply chains, and on freedom of navigation.<\/p>\n

Still, few breakthroughs are expected this week from the Group of 20 economies \u2014 which include China, India, Russia, Japan, Germany and France \u2014 as officials face divisions over Moscow\u2019s war on Ukraine and fallout from the conflict with Iran.<\/p>\n

Russia has been shunned by most of the West after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and Lavrov himself remains under international sanctions.<\/p>\n

Rubio\u2019s encounter with Lavrov \u2014 whose presence adds an additional layer of tension \u2014 will be closely watched as Washington pursues diplomacy on Ukraine while seeking Moscow\u2019s cooperation on reining in fuel prices, a key campaign issue in the midterms.<\/p>\n

A diplomatic source said that instead of a final declaration, this week\u2019s meeting is likely to conclude with the publication of a chair summary drafted by the United States.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration is set to hand the rotating G20 leadership to Britain and sees the platform as having strayed from its core mission.<\/p>\n

A US State Department official earlier stressed the importance of energy access for technologies such as AI and spoke of a \u201cshared resolve to\u2026 keep critical sea lanes open to commerce without threats or tolls.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>\u2018Test case\u2019<\/h3>\n

Global energy prices have rocketed since US-Israel strikes on Iran from late February triggered Tehran\u2019s blockage of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the last test case the G20 has, at least under the US G20 presidency, until Miami,\u201d Alisha Chhangani of the Atlantic Council told AFP.<\/em> Its outcomes will affect how the December summit shapes up.<\/p>\n

She expects Washington will seek to argue that security shocks are also economic shocks.<\/p>\n

It will likely push for agreement on what \u201cfreedom of navigation\u201d means within and beyond Hormuz, a crucial waterway for oil and gas transit, she said.<\/p>\n

But this could face objections from China, which dissented against wording on free navigation in Hormuz and worldwide at an earlier gathering of finance ministers.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s top diplomat Wang Yi will not be in Atlanta, and is instead sending his deputy, the US State Department said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the possibility of further escalation in the Middle East is mounting, with Israel threatening to strike Iran and Trump signalling he could attack after Tuesday\u2019s midterm elections.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Lavrov\u2019s attendance<\/h3>\n

The appearance of Lavrov, who plans to argue against international sanctions at the gathering, will likely frustrate European ministers, Chhangani said.<\/p>\n

His meeting with Rubio comes ahead of fresh negotiations between Moscow, Kyiv and Washington in November.<\/p>\n

It is not surprising, however, as Washington has welcomed Russian officials to this year\u2019s G20 events \u2014 while excluding member South Africa \u2014 and Trump has invited his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to Miami in December.<\/p>\n

Trump has eased some sanctions on Moscow recently while touting a deal for Russia to sell diesel as prices soared, squeezing Americans.<\/p>\n

The diplomatic source stressed that Russia\u2019s G20 presence \u201cin no way legitimises its actions.\u201d<\/p>\n

All eyes will also be on US engagement with Brazil, whose foreign minister will be in attendance, after Washington granted entry to Flavio Bolsonaro following his defeat in Sunday\u2019s presidential election.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio opened talks on Friday with G20 counterparts, including Russia\u2019s Sergei Lavrov, in meetings set to be fractious as wars in Ukraine and Iran, alongside surging energy costs, fan discord. The foreign ministers\u2019 meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, takes place just days before crucial US midterm elections, setting the stage for a December G20 leaders\u2019 summit in Miami at President Donald Trump\u2019s Doral resort. But ongoing conflicts have deepened rifts even as the United States seeks to focus on economic growth, trade imbalances and supply chain…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3557\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}