G20 foreign ministers concluded two days of talks in Atlanta without reaching an agreement on securing commercial shipping in the Black Sea, though the U.S. is reviewing proposals from Türkiye and India aimed at restoring grain exports and addressing global food security concerns.
- No agreement reached: G20 ministers ended October 30-31 talks without a plan to secure Black Sea shipping and restore grain movement.
- Proposals under review: The U.S. is examining proposals from Türkiye and India to address the shipping crisis and food security threats.
- Alignment on problem, not solution: Secretary of State Rubio confirmed ministers agreed attacks on sea lanes threaten food security, but disagreed on how to solve it.
- Russian attacks escalate: EU representative Kallas noted Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports and infrastructure have made the Black Sea a critical choke point for global grain supplies.
- Separate negotiations: Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and Turkish President Erdoğan agreed to work on establishing a Black Sea grain corridor, with three-way talks planned for November.
Foreign ministers from the Group of 20 ended two days of talks in Atlanta without a plan to secure commercial shipping in the Black Sea, as the U.S. said it is reviewing proposals from Türkiye and India to get grain moving again.
The U.S. presidency closed the Oct. 30-31 meeting with a chair's statement released by the U.S. Department of State. The statement called for "safe navigation and transit passage through international waterways" and said the global community should agree that trade in food and agricultural products "should not be used as a tool for economic or political coercion." It did not mention the Black Sea by name.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was more direct at his closing news conference. He said ministers agreed that attacks on sea lanes threaten food security when energy, fertilizer and agricultural products cannot reach their destinations.
"I'm grateful that this group was able to have purposeful meetings on this subject, but obviously – and that we are aligned at least in our goal, in our understanding that it's a serious problem, although I cannot say we are aligned on how to solve it," Rubio said.
Proposals on the table
Rubio said Türkiye and India "have come to the table with some ideas about how we can get grain shipments movement." He said the U.S. is examining a proposal Türkiye sent "maybe a couple weeks ago, maybe a week ago," and that India has also expressed interest in floating ideas. He described growing interest among countries in serving as guarantors or facilitators of an agreement but declined to call it momentum or give odds on a deal.
"It doesn't solve the war problem, but at least it diminishes some of the impact – spillover impact that it's having on the food security of vulnerable countries," Rubio said.
Kaja Kallas, the European Union's high representative for foreign affairs, used the meeting's first session on geopolitical tensions to push a freedom of navigation arrangement for the Black Sea covering civilian shipping, critical infrastructure and agricultural exports. "Ukraine has accepted this, Russia has rejected it," she said. Kallas also said Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports, farm infrastructure and shipping have made the Black Sea a choke point and that global grain prices are at their highest since 2023.
Ukraine and Türkiye talk corridor
The same day the meeting ended, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Istanbul. According to the Office of the President of Ukraine, the two discussed Black Sea security and preparations for a meeting of Ukraine, the U.S. and Russia in the first half of November.
"Today, President Erdoğan and I agreed to work on a Black Sea grain corridor – to ensure that the corridor exists and operates effectively," Zelenskyy said.
Statements from Kyiv and Washington did not detail routes, inspections or security guarantees for a corridor. Dates and a format for the three-way talks have not been announced, and the U.S. has not said whether it will back the Turkish proposal.
