S Africa says G20 shared goals outweigh differences as it concludes summit

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says the declaration from this weekend’s Group of 20 (G20) summit reflects a “renewed commitment to multilateral cooperation” as the rotating presidency moves to the United States under the cloud of another diplomatic row.

Ramaphosa, host of the Johannesburg summit, pushed through the declaration addressing global challenges like the climate crisis despite objections from the US, which boycotted the event.

Trump boycotted the summit of leaders from rich and emerging economies on Saturday and Sunday because of allegations that the host country’s Black majority government persecutes its white minority – allegations that have been widely debunked.

The diplomatic rift between the US and South Africa deepened this week when Ramaphosa said the US had changed its mind and wanted to participate in the summit at the last minute.

The White House denied that and said US officials would attend only the formal handover of the G20 presidency. Although that didn’t happen, Ramaphosa said on Sunday that the presidency had moved on to the US

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara was still evaluating how to potentially deploy its security forces to take part in an international stabilisation force being planned in Gaza.

NATO member Turkiye played a key role in negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza, becoming one of the signatories of the accord signed in Egypt.

Speaking at a news conference after the G20 summit in South Africa, Erdogan repeated his view that the attacks in Gaza amounted to “genocide” and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was responsible for them.