The two-day Group of 20 foreign ministers meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa aimed at tackling global issues, among others, ended Friday.
The host, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, addressed the discord head-on in his opening speech, saying the world was under threat from rising intolerance and wars.
The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio had earlier announced his decision to boycott the meeting, citing what he called the "anti-Americanism" on the agenda. These topics included climate change and equality for developing nations.
Washington however sent US Embassy Charge d'Affaires Dana Brown in Rubio's place.
In spite of the rousing welcome for foreign dignitaries, tensions were apparent before the event got underway.
"There is a lack of consensus among major powers, including the G20, on how to respond to these issues of global significance," Ramaphosa said.
South Africa has come under attack from the new US administration, which accuses the government of land grabs, an accusation South Africa strongly denies. President Donald Trump recently cut financial assistance to the country over the allegations.
Even a planned group photo fell through, though no official explanation was given for its last-minute cancellation.
Steven Gruzd, an analyst at the South African Institute of International Affairs, highlights the challenges the meeting presented.
"South Africa's had a very difficult job of getting countries that are ideologically very far apart around the same table," he said.
Nevertheless, some member-countries at the meeting spoke in favor of South Africa.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed his support for South Africa's G20 presidency, saying: "the current international landscape is marked by transformation and turbulence." For him, China will "work with all parties" on world peace, security and multilateralism.
One topic that dominated at the meeting was Ukraine. The foreign ministers gathered days after Trump upended U.S. policy on the war, suggesting Ukraine was to blame for Russia's 2022 invasion and labeling one-time U.S. ally Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a "dictator."
Retired US diplomat Brooks Spector said, "Now that President Trump has effectively ended the general Western consensus on Ukraine, it's obviously fallen to the European nations to be the primary source of support for Ukraine and its president and in fact its struggle against Russia."
The EU has indeed rallied in support of Zelenskyy after Trump's comments. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, speaking on the sidelines of the meeting, voiced his concerns.
"A capitulation of Ukraine today would set a terrible example for every country in the world that would be under the threat of predation by its bigger neighbor," he said. "Is this the world in which we want to live," he querried.
However, in his closing remarks South African foreign minister Ronald Lamola put a positive spin on things, saying the meeting had been an overall success and delegates had held "productive" talks.
