US cancels G20 family photo after Australia, UK and others refuse to pose with Russia
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio cancelled the traditional group photo at the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta after several countries, including the UK and Australia, said they would not appear beside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The rifts make a joint communique unlikely.
The traditional group photo at the opening of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta, in the United States, was cancelled on Friday. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the call after several European officials, the UK and Australia signalled they would boycott or walk out of the photo because Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would be in it. The episode shows how deeply the G20, the group of the world's largest economies, is divided over how to treat Russia.
According to the source, about one-third of the countries at the talks had said they would not stand beside any Russian representatives. Germany's foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, said before the session that there would be no photo with European partners and Lavrov together, because there is no normality with Russia. UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband took a similar line, saying Britain has not engaged with Russians in that way for a number of years.
Rubio nonetheless opened the talks with a call for unity. He said the world is at a critical moment and faces a series of interconnected economic and geopolitical crises. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine in front of Lavrov, saying the war had affected international markets and worsened global food security. Her spokesperson said Australia backed the decision to cancel the photo.
Disagreements likely to block a joint statement
Diplomats described the opening session as cordial, but said Russia's position on Ukraine is unyielding, as is its opposition to Poland's membership of the G20. Together with the US decision not to invite member South Africa, these disputes will probably prevent the ministers from issuing a joint communique when the meeting ends on Saturday, participants said. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, whose country is attending a G20 meeting as a guest for the first time, said that with participants in wars sitting around the table, agreeing a common line is very difficult.
Ukraine, which is not a G20 member but was invited to earlier meetings, was not invited this year; US officials said it was a deliberate choice to include only formal members. South Africa, a founding member and the only African country in the group, was also left out, and a spokesperson for its international relations minister said its non-participation is not voluntary. Participants agreed to try to overcome their differences and work towards a successful G20 leaders' summit, hosted by President Donald Trump in Florida next month.
