Argentina refuses to back G20 statement over ‘breakdown in consensus’

Argentina’s government has issued a statement condemning the “breakdown of consensus” that usually governs the Group of 20 nations, adding it does not endorse the final communiqué issued this weekend in Johannesburg.

In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry, President Javier Milei’s government said it had decided not to endorse the final document agreed during the G20 summit hosted by South Africa. It based its diplomatic decision on two main areas of criticism: the alleged violation of the consensus rule that governs the forum and substantive differences in positions over the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Buenos Aires said it regretted that the final communique was approved "without the consensus of all members of the forum, including Argentina, among others," questioning its legitimacy. 

For Argentina, “it is essential to preserve the consensus rule as the basis for the legitimacy of the G20, whose main mandate is the global coordination of actions aimed at financial stability and economic growth,” continued the statement.

The text’s geopolitical content also came into focus. With regard to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Argentina distanced itself from the approach reflected in the document, which it considered “partial.”

According to the Milei government, the text omitted key regional context and the underlying structural causes of the conflict – elements that Argentina views as indispensable for progress towards a peace process that is “genuine, sustainable and balanced.”

Since taking office in December 2023, Milei has reorientated Argentina’s foreign policy in favour of the United States and Israel, two nations that the head of state describes as his “pillars.”

– TIMES/NA