ATLANTA, October 31 (Aalimi Nation) – The United States cancelled the traditional group photograph at a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Atlanta after several European ministers refused to stand beside Russia's Sergei Lavrov, officials and ministers said. The two-day talks otherwise went ahead as scheduled, with India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar taking part.
According to two US officials who were not named, several European ministers had threatened to boycott the photograph or walk out rather than pose with Lavrov. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the host, decided to scrap it because he felt the dispute would distract from the agenda, the officials said.
Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said European ministers would not be photographed with Lavrov and that he expected no group photo at all. He said there could be "no normality" with Russia. Poland's Radosław Sikorski called the cancellation "the right decision" and said he was not alone in refusing to pose with Lavrov. The United Kingdom has long avoided direct bilateral contact with Russian ministers since the invasion of Ukraine, and officials said that has not changed.
Opening the meeting, Rubio described it as a "moment of choosing" for the United States and the world. He pointed to linked economic and geopolitical pressures, including disruptions to energy and food supplies, trade tensions and threats to freedom of navigation, and urged members to work together to protect markets. He also said on social media that maritime and food security underpin economic security, and that the American "America First" approach encourages partners to protect shipping routes.
Rubio planned separate meetings with counterparts from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Japan and South Korea. He, Japan's Motegi Toshimitsu and South Korea's Cho Hyun were expected to sign a trilateral Arctic Pacific partnership agreement.
Jaishankar arrived on Friday and is participating in discussions on energy security and supply chains. India's Ministry of External Affairs has said he will hold one-on-one talks with several G20 counterparts. The agenda matters to India, which depends on imports of oil, liquefied natural gas and fertiliser that move along vulnerable sea lanes.
On the sidelines, Jaishankar is due to attend a meeting of the Quad, which brings together India, the United States, Japan and Australia. Ministers are expected to discuss Indo-Pacific strategy, technology, artificial intelligence and critical minerals. No readout of any meeting between Jaishankar and Lavrov had been published at the time of writing.
Some members had questioned the decision to invite Russia while its attacks on Ukraine were intensifying. Tensions have grown after President Donald Trump waived fresh sanctions on Russia and temporarily limited logistical and intelligence support to Ukraine, which pushed US-Ukraine relations to a new low. A similar episode occurred at a G20 gathering in September, when Russia's finance minister was left out of a group picture after several members said they would not take part if he was included.
The G20, set up in 1999 after the Asian financial crisis, includes 19 countries, the European Union and the African Union. Trump will host the leaders' summit in Miami in December.
