BUENOS AIRES: G20 leaders opened annual talks on Friday stalked by the deepest divisions since their first summit 10 years ago, with US President Donald Trump under fire for destroying the group’s past consensus on trade and climate change.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, under pressure himself after his security forces seized three Ukrainian ships, set the tone by condemning the “vicious” use of sanctions and trade protectionism.

The target was clear, as Trump — who cancelled a planned meeting with Putin in Buenos Aires — tears up the stability promoted by the G20 powers when they first convened in November 2008 in the grip of financial crisis.

Putin’s attack, and similar criticism of Trump’s isolationist stance by French President Emmanuel Macron, capped an incident-packed buildup to the G20 that included flare-ups over Ukraine and Saudi Arabia.

Putin grinned broadly and welcomed Saudi Crown Prince Moham­med bin Salman like a long-lost friend with a high-five ahead of a group photo where Trump stood grimly.

The summit marks a quick return to the international stage for the Prince Mohammed after the kingdom came under fire for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in its Istanbul consulate. Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May both said they were raising the killing of Khashoggi during meetings with the 33-year-old prince.

May told British media she intended to use the summit to sell the vision of a “global Britain” after its Brexit departure from the European Union, scheduled for March next year.

EU president Donald Tusk was more focused on the Ukraine crisis, saying at the G20 that he was “sure” the bloc would roll over its sanctions on Russia next month.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2018