The summit, the first to be held in Africa, opened on Saturday with EU leaders and their counterparts from leading and emerging economies coming together as Washington's proposed peace plan for Ukraine loomed large on the sidelines.

Europe is considering seizing billions in Russian assets to support Ukraine, as proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Washington's plan, which endorses key Russian demands, was met with measured criticism from many U.S. allies. Leaders sought to balance praise for Trump's attempt to end the fighting with recognition that some terms in his proposal are unpalatable for Kyiv.

International leaders held crunch talks on Ukraine today at the G20 summit in South Africa, shunned by Trump, where they rejected parts of the US President’s peace plan