Argentina may block G20 summit statement, FT reports
Photo: Argentina's President Javier Milei (Getty Images)
Tomorrow, on November 18, a new G20 summit will begin in Rio de Janeiro. However, Argentina may block the final communiqué of the meeting, states the Financial Times.
The publication reports that Argentina's President Javier Milei, a close ally of newly elected US President Donald Trump, has threatened to block the joint statement to be approved by G20 leaders. This includes objections related to the taxation of the ultra-wealthy and gender equality.
Additionally, according to sources cited by the Financial Times, diplomats worked late into Saturday evening trying to reach a consensus on issues such as climate change funding and geopolitical matters, including Russia's war in Ukraine. By Sunday morning, progress had been made on key issues.
However, Milei's veto threat has raised concerns among many Western diplomats, who fear that Trump's victory will empower his conservative allies and lead to a shift away from ambitious agreements on issues like global warming. The Financial Times also reminds that Trump had promised to withdraw the US from the Paris Climate Agreement.
"(The Argentine government) wants to make the G20 in Brazil a test between old and new forces. After a year of negotiations on taxation and consensus, they are creating problems on things they accepted, word for word" said one Brazilian official.
Buenos Aires' stance against the draft communiqué came after Milei's meeting with Trump in Florida on November 14, marking the first meeting between the newly elected US president and a foreign leader since the election.
Furthermore, last week, Argentina was the only country to vote against a UN resolution condemning online violence against women and girls.
According to the Financial Times, many officials attending the event, where Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is set to announce the creation of a global alliance to fight hunger, fear that his speech will be overshadowed by the realization that Trump opposes many of the planned outcomes.
"We're all supposed to sit there and talk about the future of global co-operation and pretend that there's not this guy on his way (to the White House) who couldn't care less. It's hard to see how anything decided (here) has much of a future," said an unnamed European official.
As a reminder, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently stated that Ukraine is working with partners to ensure its position is represented in all discussions at the G20.
