Foreign ministers and senior envoys from the Group of 20 largest economies convened in Atlanta on Friday and Saturday, bringing together diplomats from Russia, China and Western powers at a moment of sharp disagreement over wars and crises that are straining global security and commerce.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is chairing the two-day gathering, which is intended to lay the groundwork for a G20 leaders summit that President Donald Trump will host in December at his Miami golf club.
Expectations for breakthroughs are low. The list of contentious issues includes the Russia-Ukraine war, the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, American tariffs and China's activities in the South China Sea, all of which have pushed up fuel costs worldwide and fueled uncertainty over trade.
American officials say their leading objective is narrowing differences over freedom of navigation, with a focus on the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea, the Black Sea and the South China Sea. Those talks are expected to touch on Iran, the Russia-Ukraine war and China's relations with its smaller neighbors.
Overshadowing the sessions is the possibility of renewed U.S. military action against Iran, a prospect that has unsettled the region, including G20 member Saudi Arabia. The Associated Press has reported that U.S. officials have told several Middle Eastern countries and regional allies to prepare for potential strikes against Iran after Tuesday's midterm elections, along with possible Iranian retaliation.
Some member nations have objected to the invitation extended to Russia, which sent Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Atlanta even as its attacks on Ukraine intensify. China is represented by a deputy foreign minister, while most other countries dispatched their top diplomat, according to U.S. officials. It remains unclear whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the December summit in Florida, and European allies are uneasy about Russia's presence after Trump waived new sanctions on Moscow and temporarily curtailed logistical and intelligence support for Ukraine.
Russia's foreign ministry said visa problems for its delegation were resolved only at the last minute, complications that spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said created the impression that 'not everyone in Washington is happy' about Lavrov's attendance. She said he would press for the 'swift reform of global economic institutions' and promote Moscow's vision of a 'multipolar world.' Lavrov has rarely traveled to NATO member states since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Ian Kelly, who served as U.S. ambassador to Georgia during Trump's first term and now teaches international relations at Northwestern University, said Lavrov's presence could create political trouble for Trump days before the midterms and friction with the group's Western members. 'It seems politically boneheaded to invite him,' Kelly said, noting that many Republican lawmakers already worried about keeping their congressional majorities are 'cranky' over Trump's conciliatory posture toward Putin, and that Democrats could use the invitation to attack the GOP before Tuesday's vote. He added that Lavrov's attendance 'will definitely take away from the message that at least the Western members want to send' on the Ukraine war.
Ukraine, which is not a G20 member but attended previous gatherings as a guest, was not invited this year, a decision U.S. officials described as a deliberate choice to include only formal members. South Africa, which chaired the group last year and is locked in several disputes with the Trump administration, was also left off the invitation list; Trump and Rubio skipped the meetings it hosted.
The State Department said Rubio views the meeting as an opportunity 'to advance practical cooperation on shared economic and security challenges,' with priorities including navigation freedom, energy and food security, and protecting critical mineral supply chains. Skeptics doubt the members can bridge their differences. 'The Atlanta meeting takes place within an environment of widening disagreement over the global economic order, and the right test is whether the U.S. can build cooperation with partners when all member consensus appears to be out of reach,' said Elaine Dezenski of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who called the gathering less a meeting than a test.
