G20 foreign ministers end Atlanta talks with no joint statement as Ukraine rift deepens
Rubio issued a chairman's statement instead, and the family photo was scrapped after Europeans refused to pose with Lavrov.
The two-day meeting in Atlanta was meant to find common ground on the global economy, but Russia's war in Ukraine proved an insurmountable divide. With no consensus text possible, Rubio issued a chairman's statement covering energy and food security and freedom of navigation — pointedly steering clear of the wars themselves.
In a telling diplomatic snub, the traditional G20 family photograph was cancelled after European ministers objected to appearing alongside Russia's Sergey Lavrov. The episode captured how far apart the world's big economies remain on Ukraine, sanctions and trade.
On the sidelines, Rubio met his counterparts from Australia, India and Japan, with the four issuing a joint statement stressing open and secure trade routes — a quiet signal of alignment among the Quad partners even as the wider table fractured.
