Rifts mar G20 summit in Atlanta

Her spokeswoman said she was arriving late from a Canada-EU summit in Montreal. South Africa's minister was also absent, not invited by the US, which holds this year's rotating presidency. A traditional G20 family photo was left off Rubio's official schedule after some European officials said they would not be photographed with Lavrov.

A third of the participants objected, including Australia and Canada, a Western diplomat said. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul the family photo to be scrapped entirely, adding, "In no case will there be a family photo with European partners and Mr. Lavrov together because, as I said yesterday, there is no normalcy with Russia.

"The US has sought to focus its allies on trade imbalances while building a coalition to counter China's control of critical minerals, but the wars and their economic impact remain the top concern for many G20 members.

In his opening remarks, Rubio said the world faced various crises that threatened global energy and food supply, trade, and the freedom of navigation. "We are tasked, on behalf of the nations that we serve, to work together with one another to coordinate responses to emerging crises and to protect our shared interests," he said.

"We can help set the context for expanded geopolitical stability and the broader economic prosperity agenda that our leaders will tackle.

"With G20 members Russia, China and middle powers such as Brazil and India trying to navigate US-China strategic competition, you have "much more of a split than we've ever had," said Heidi Crebo-Rediker, who was chief economist at the State Department during the Obama administration.

Over the past decade or so, G7 countries would at least "have agreed a coordinated platform before they came to the G20, but now we don't even really have that," she added.