Foreign ministers talk war in Ukraine and other conflicts on last day of G20 meeting in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Foreign ministers and senior diplomats from leading rich and developing countries focused on global conflicts, mainly on the Russia-Ukraine war, on Friday, the last day of their meeting in South Africa.

The two-day gathering in Johannesburg of the Group of 20 nations was marked by the absence of a senior U.S. delegation.

South Africa — the first African country to hold the G20 presidency — has tried to downplay this, saying it was “not a train smash” and that crucial deliberations continued in the presence of acting U.S. ambassador Dana Brown.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the gathering aimed to “engage in serious dialogue” against a backdrop of ongoing wars, climate change, and energy and food insecurity.

The United States is expected to take over the G20 presidency after South Africa next year.

After the gathering concluded, South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola told reporters that ongoing conflicts and wars in Africa, the Middle East and Europe are holding back economic development.

“The meeting reiterated that all states must act in a manner consistent with the peoples and principles of the U.N. charter,” Lamola said, adding there was agreement to support peace efforts to resolve the war in Ukraine, The Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the conflicts in Sudan and Congo and others.

Lamola confirmed that President Ramaphosa has invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a state visit. The two leaders had previously met on the sidelines of various global platforms.

Lamola openly defended Ukraine’s right to have a seat at the table in any peace talks on ending the war.

“We still think that any peace negotiation process should be inclusive and that inclusiveness should then include Ukraine very clearly. And that’s the approach that we will continue to take,” he said.

There were vastly different claims — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in his speech Thursday that Western countries were to blame for the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The top U.K. diplomat, David Lammy, said Russia apparently is not seeking peace.

“I have to say when I listened to what the Russians and what Lavrov have just said … I don’t see an appetite to really get to that peace,” Lammy said.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said that if Ukraine were to capitulate, that “would set a terrible example for every country in the world that would then be under the threat of predation by its bigger neighbor.”

The U.N.’s economic commission for Africa representative Claver Gatete said global conflicts have implications for African countries, citing the continent’s rise in inflation and food prices since Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago.

“It doesn’t matter where the conflict is, it has an impact on Africa,” Gatete said.

South Africa will host the G20 Leaders’ Summit in November this year, a gathering that’s expected to be attended by G20 heads of state.