A few hours are enough to turn a promising routine summit into an unusual crisis meeting. Or 28 points. With so many people, Donald Trump wants to force peace on Ukraine – under great pressure, including over time. This has the potential to disrupt the carefully arranged schedule of hosting the G-20 Summit in South Africa.
The Europeans were ultimately caught by surprise by their old ally, the United States, despite signs that something was about to happen. But there is much that is unacceptable to them – starting with the freezing of Russian assets, especially in Belgium, which Europe wants to exploit in order to continue supporting Kiev, and ending with the prospect that America will want to act as a neutral referee to monitor whether Russia and its allies are complying with the planned agreement.
It is clear that the American negotiators who drafted the paper have moved away from the Western defense alliance they have led unchallenged for decades. Ukraine is even less likely to agree to Washington’s terms. President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has openly complained that his country is losing its dignity or its most important ally.
Mediation paper with counter proposal
The first summit of the Group of Twenty (G of 20) on African soil will be used by European guests primarily to discuss the deteriorating situation internally and then to be able to convey a common message more forcefully. German government officials said they would meet in a different format.
There is already a mediation paper with a counter proposal based on Trump’s pattern. Once Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) was able to speak with Trump by telephone shortly before his departure for South Africa, he may inform his European counterparts in Johannesburg about what has been agreed to then discuss with them how to proceed.
From Europe, apart from Merz, heads of state or government from France, Italy and England as well as from Ireland, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain and Norway want to take part in the G-20 Summit. Even more Europeans are coming to southern Africa on Monday – to Angola, where the EU-Africa summit will be held directly after the meeting in Johannesburg.
There were no top officials from Washington
The fact that neither Trump nor any other senior Washington officials are in South Africa makes the matter both easier and more complicated. On the pitch, the European side do not need to consider anyone, except the hosts, lest they completely reject their program. But this eliminated any immediate response from America.
Under these conditions, how the overall G-20 summit will play out over the weekend is less predictable than usual at the start of the meeting. Everything changes. The South African Presidency is determined to implement its agenda. President Cyril Ramaphosa made this clear in his opening speech. He pushed for adoption of the final declaration, which should be supported by members present from the group of key industrialized countries and developing countries. “Do I have your support for us to continue like this?” Ramaphosa asked after his opening speech at the Nasrec conference centre.
Calls for “just” peace in Ukraine
Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said at the meeting that his country could not support the declaration due to differences in views, but remained committed to the spirit of cooperation. However, the 30-page declaration was accepted by acclamation. In it, the group of the most important industrial and developing countries (G20) recalled the UN Charter and condemned all attacks on civilians and infrastructure. In accordance with the principles of the UN Charter, they advocate “just, comprehensive and lasting peace” in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the occupied Palestinian territories and Ukraine.
The US had protested on Thursday against implementing the final declaration without his signature. “It is a long-standing G20 tradition to only publish consensus results and it is outrageous that the South African government is now seeking to deviate from this common practice despite our repeated objections,” Reuters news agency quoted a White House source as saying.
Merz found the words clear
Merz spoke clearly in his opening contribution: “Russia has launched an illegal war of aggression. Now Russia must finally put an end to this aggression, which has brought terrible human suffering to Europe,” stressed the Chancellor. Russia has a responsibility to end the major impact on the global economy. “All G20 members must now fulfill their responsibilities, not just for economic interests.” Anyone who wants to do this could see this as a small blow to Washington. While speaking to the hosts, Merz said Germany is aware of its responsibility in cooperating with Southern countries.
The G20 Sherpas approved the text of the final declaration on Friday morning after five days of negotiations. These statements have a signal effect, but are not binding. If it is not possible to agree on a statement, the Presidency will only provide the so-called “Chairman’s Summary”, i.e. a summary of activities and considerations during the year. South Africa sees the final declaration as proof of the success of the G-20 presidency. It remains unclear how the presidency will be handed over to America on Sunday.
With their boycott of the summit, America succeeded in antagonizing South Africa in a big way. South Africa refused to hand over the incumbent American ambassador and charge d’affaires – the ambassadorship was vacant. Ramaphosa previously said he was resigned to handing over his post to an “empty seat”.
