Rubio opens the G20 foreign ministers meeting in Atlanta with the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East dividing the table

The foreign ministers of the world's 20 largest economies sat down in Atlanta on Friday for two days of talks that the host country would prefer to keep on economics. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is chairing the meeting under the American presidency of the G20. The stated agenda is energy and supply chain security, freedom of navigation, and a coalition to counter China's dominance of rare earths and other critical minerals, an effort Rubio has championed under the name Pax Silica.

The room itself tells the harder story. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is attending, a rare American appearance for him since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and he plans to argue against international sanctions. China's Wang Yi stayed home and sent deputy Ma Zhaoxu. South Africa, last year's host, was not invited at all. European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas arrived saying she would call for increased support for Ukraine and for progress on accountability through the Special Tribunal and Claims Commission. Diplomats expect no joint declaration. Washington is expected to issue a chair's summary instead.

A State Department official told reporters on Thursday that four G20 ministerial meetings this year had reached some consensus, and that more work is needed before the leaders summit in Miami on December 14 to 16. Ukraine was not invited to the Atlanta meeting. Technical level trilateral talks among Russia, Ukraine and the United States on ending the war are expected in Abu Dhabi next month, while President Trump presses for a ceasefire.

The ministers of the Quad, the United States, India, Japan and Australia, meet on the sidelines, and India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar arrived in Atlanta late Thursday for both gatherings. The meeting opened a day after Commerce Department data showed the American economy growing at its fastest pace in a year, carried by AI investment, while other G20 economies face slower growth or contraction under high oil prices from the Middle East war. It also opened four days before midterm elections that polls suggest could cost the president his majorities in Congress. The wars are the top concern for most of the delegations in the room, whatever the agenda says.