Global leaders to discuss Russia-Ukraine peace plan at G20 summit

A US-European rift over the future of Ukraine threatened to overshadow a G20 summit that started in South Africa marked by the absence of President Donald Trump. 

The Johannesburg gathering was attended by a host of world leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

But it was boycotted by the US government, which said South Africa's priorities – which include boosting global cooperation on trade and climate action – run counter to US policy.

Opening the event, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa implicitly rebuffed the US absence by stressing that "multilateralism" was needed to help solve global challenges, including from "escalating geopolitical tensions."

'All want war to end'

This is the first summit of the group of major economies to be held in Africa after a surprise unilateral US plan to end the war in Ukraine largely in line with Russia's goals.

Washington's 28-point plan calls on Ukraine to cede territory, accept limits on its military and renounce ambitions to join NATO. It also contains some proposals Moscow may object to and requires its forces to pull back from some areas they control, according to a draft seen by Reuters news agency.

Sources told reporters that Ukraine was working on a counter-proposal with the UK, France and Germany. The Europeans have not been consulted on the US plan and have expressed strong support for Kyiv.

"We all want this war to end, but how it ends matters. Russia has no legal right whatsoever to any concessions from the country it invaded," said the EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas. "This is a very dangerous moment for all."

Leaders from Europe, Canada and Australia were to huddle on the sidelines of the summit to "discuss the way ahead on Ukraine," an EU official said.

"We are working on making the US plan something more able to be applied, based on previous dialogue,” a European diplomatic source said.

China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fu Cong addressed the Security Council on the 20th during its deliberations on the Ukraine issue, urging the parties involved in the Russia-Ukraine conflict to swiftly embark on the path of negotiated settlement.

After a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer released a statement stressing that any peace plan needed the "joint support and consensus of European partners and NATO allies."

But Ukraine and its allies have only a few days to try to influence Washington's proposal. 

Zelenskyy, who has rejected the plan's terms in the past as capitulation, appealed to Ukrainians for unity and said he would never betray Ukraine.

"Now, Ukraine can face a very difficult choice — either losing dignity or risk losing a major partner," he said in a speech to the nation, adding, "I will fight 24/7 to ensure that at least two points in the plan are not overlooked – the dignity and freedom of Ukrainians."

Value of multilateralism

Another issue dogging the G20 summit was a deadlock at COP30 climate negotiations taking place in Brazil.

Friday was meant to be the last day of those talks, which had gone on for nearly two weeks. But they have spilled into overtime because petro-states were accused of resisting any reference to a fossil fuel phaseout in the final text.

Despite the headwinds, host South Africa stressed that international cooperation was key.

"The G20 underscores the value of the relevance of multilateralism. It recognizes that the challenges that we face can only be resolved through cooperation, collaboration and partnership," Ramaphosa said.

He said that a joint G20 summit leaders' declaration, adopted at the start of the summit, "sends an important signal to the world that multilateralism can and does deliver."

The US boycott echoes Trump's decision not to send an official delegation to the COP30, and reflects a general U.S. withdrawal from international forums.

Washington has said it would send its charge d'affaires from its embassy at the end of the Johannesburg meeting only for a handover ceremony, as the United States will host next year's G20 summit.