Russia's presence divides G20 ministers

A seat at the table, but unwelcome in the family photo. The presence of Russia's foreign minister in Atlanta prompted European ministers to refuse the traditional group shot. The American host scrapped it rather than force the issue. Invited by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Sergei Lavrov faced a blunt message from Britain's Ed Miliband. We all know you're the aggressor. We all know that you started this war four and a half years ago with the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. And Putin thought then he would win this war easily, but you're not winning the war. Miliband accused Russia of killing 15 people in a drone strike on Dnipro on Thursday. The EU's foreign policy chief said she too challenged Lavrov. Of course, he put forward a lot of lies, a lot of false narratives that we were also able to then debunk. Poland's Radoslaw Sikorski accused Moscow of waging a hybrid war across Europe and urged continued support for Ukraine through the coming winter. Lavrov dismissed Poland's contribution as unconstructive. He also repeated Putin's offer to meet Volodymyr Zelensky, provided the Ukrainian president travels to Moscow. Ukraine itself was not invited to the G20 meeting. Washington wants the focus to be on energy and critical mineral supplies, but with ministers unable to even pose together, a joint declaration looks unlikely.