Trump's proposal for war in Ukraine marks the G-20 summit

BarcelonaDespite choosing not to send a delegation to the G-20 summit in Johannesburg, the shadow of US President Donald Trump loomed over the annual meeting of the world's twenty most powerful economies. Ultimatum in Ukraine to accept a biased peace plan The US's proposal to Russia, announced a couple of days ago, has shaped the summit's proceedings, particularly for representatives of European countries, who held a parallel meeting to discuss a common response. South Africa, the host country, secured the approval of a joint declaration focused on climate change, a significant blow to Trump, who had demanded that attendees not sign any document without US representation. Hours before the summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held telephone conversations with several leaders to discuss Trump's peace proposal. These included British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and French President Emmanuel Macron. According to Reuters, these top officials from the three European powerhouses held an initial meeting in Johannesburg to coordinate their positions. Later, the meeting expanded to include the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen of Germany, and the President of the European Council, António Costa of Portugal, as well as the leaders of Finland, Norway, Spain, and the Netherlands.

"Theinitial draft of the 28 points "It includes important elements that will be essential for a just and lasting peace," states a communiqué signed by European leaders and released after their meeting. "Therefore, we believe that the draft can be a foundation that will require further work," the text adds. A meeting between representatives of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Ukraine is scheduled for this Sunday in Geneva.

A joint declaration despite Trump

In his opening address at the summit, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa celebrated the joint declaration and sent a veiled message to Donald Trump. "We must not allow anything to diminish the value, the level, and the impact of the first African G-20 presidency," Ramaphosa said. Indeed, Washington's boycott was intended to undermine South Africa, a country that Trump has falsely accused the white minority of carrying out a "genocide".In fact, their demand that member countries not approve a joint statement was intended to sabotage the summit, the first held by the G-20 on the African continent.

The final declaration includes a series of principles toward which the Trump administration has shown a hostile stance, such as the need to combat climate change and the importance of multilateralism. "We emphasize the importance of strengthening multilateral cooperation to address current and future risks and challenges to the global economy," the declaration states, calling for increased global investment to meet the objectives of the Paris climate agreement, especially in the field of renewable energy, as well as in promoting sustainable and more inclusive development that takes into account the debt problems of poor countries.

Pretoria's victory in its standoff with Washington has been evident, since only one country, Javier Milei's Argentina, heeded Trump and voted against the joint declaration. The White House reacted through its spokesperson, calling the approval of the text "shameful," since the convention that it be the product of consensus was not respected.

The G-20 is an organization that was created in 1999 once it became clear that the rise of several economies of the so-called Global South had rendered the G-7, an organization that brings together the world's most industrialized countries, unrepresentative. However, it was not until the 2008 financial crisis that the G-20 acquired significant influence in the management of world affairs. The organization includes a total of 19 countries, including Brazil, India, and China, as well as the European Union and the African Union. In total, they represent 85% of the world's GDP and more than 65% of its population.

While Johannesburg saw a strong presence of world leaders, including France's Emmanuel Macron, India's Narendra Modi, and Brazil's Lula da Silva, some notable absences were also apparent, such as those of the presidents of Russia and China. In the case of Vladimir Putin, the most likely reason is the risk of being arrested as soon as he arrives in South Africa, since there is an arrest warrant against him from the International Criminal Court, of which Pretoria is a signatory.