G20 group photo cancelled after refusal to pose with Lavrov
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Bénin Web TV
The United States cancelled the G20 foreign ministers’ group photograph in Atlanta after several Europeans refused to pose with Russian Sergei Lavrov. Discussions continued despite the disagreement linked to the war in Ukraine, according to Bénin Web TV.
The United States cancelled the group photograph of G20 foreign ministers meeting in Atlanta on Friday 30 October after several European representatives refused to pose alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Bénin Web TV reports. Some had threatened to boycott the protocol event.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio kept the discussions going and called on participants to co-operate in the face of economic and geopolitical crises threatening trade, energy, food supplies and freedom of navigation in particular. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski welcomed the cancellation of the photograph, while his German counterpart Johann Wadephul defended continuing dialogue with Moscow without giving the impression of a return to normal relations.
The war in Ukraine divides the participants. Lavrov remains under Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The wars in Ukraine and Iran are also weighing on the meeting’s discussions.
Washington excluded South Africa, a founding member of the G20. The African Union is represented in Atlanta by Burundian minister Édouard Bizimana, while the Chinese delegation is led by Executive Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu. The ministerial meeting precedes the G20 leaders’ summit, scheduled to take place in Miami on 14 and 15 December.
