World leaders have split on an attempt to build support for Ukraine at the G20 summit of major economies, putting the plan on course for defeat at the last gathering of the peak group before Donald Trump takes office as United States president.
Leaders including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are seeking to put pressure on Russia over its invasion, but Turkish President Recep Erdogan has argued for a truce that would allow Russia to keep the territory it has taken over the past two years.
G20 leaders pose for a group photo in Rio de Janeiro.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has backed Ukraine at the summit in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, using his remarks to the opening session to call on the G20 to condemn Russia for the invasion.
Albanese singled out the North Korean support for Russia as a key concern, given estimates that 10,000 soldiers from North Korea have been sent west to fight Ukrainian forces.
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But the attempt to make a strong statement on the conflict cannot gain a consensus at the summit when two of the group’s members, Russia and China, have blocked a similar move in the past.
Trudeau said a “blunt” conversation was needed about the risk to Ukraine from a withdrawal of support from the US.
All the allies in the world would not be able to replace a complete withdrawal from supporting Ukraine by the United States,” he said before arriving at the G20 summit.
Erdogan, however, is proposing a peace deal based on the current front lines in the conflict, in effect sacrificing large amounts of Ukrainian territory, and wants to keep Ukraine out of NATO for at least 10 years.
