G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta begins with a scandal: Europeans refuse a photo with Lavrov

Cancellation of the 'family photo' on the very first day

The meeting of foreign ministers of the 'Group of Twenty' in Atlanta, USA, began on Friday with an incident: leading European diplomats refused to take part in the 'family photo' alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The host of the meeting, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, cancelled the photo before the session began so that it would not turn into a spectacle and a distraction from the agenda. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul explained the Europeans' position this way: 'there is no normality with Russia.' This is reported by Deutsche Welle.

The agenda: crises, food and talks on Ukraine

The two-day meeting, attended by the EU, Russia, Germany, India, China, Brazil and other countries, is conceived as a prelude to the G20 summit in December, which Donald Trump will host at his golf club in Miami. Rubio opened the talks with a call for unity, calling the moment 'critical' and pointing to interconnected economic and geopolitical crises, including disruptions in trade and energy. According to the meeting, the wars in Iran and Ukraine have led to a spike in food prices for people around the world. On the sidelines of the meeting, participants also hoped to find out from Lavrov Moscow's position on future talks with Kyiv against the backdrop of a new impetus to resume peace talks.

Lavrov: a meeting with Zelensky — only in Moscow

The US invited Putin to the December summit in Miami, but whether he accepted the invitation is unknown. Zelensky previously said that he is ready to come to Miami for talks with Putin if the latter is also there. However, as Lavrov told DW in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the meeting, the Kremlin is for now declining direct meetings with Zelensky: 'President Putin said: if he is ready to meet, let him come to Moscow. We will guarantee his safety.' Lavrov refused to say whether Putin would attend the summit; he has not attended G20 meetings since 2019, and in 2023 took part only online. Meanwhile, Russia continues strikes on Ukrainian cities, ramping up drone attacks on water and energy infrastructure: on 29 October a strike on the railway station in Dnipro killed at least 14 people.

Confrontation at the table and no 'illusions' about a thaw with the US

The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, said that the ministers were able to point out to Lavrov 'to his face' his 'lies' and to refute his narratives on Ukraine. British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband called for working towards a 'just and lasting peace' in Ukraine. Lavrov himself, who is under international sanctions, noted that despite the oil deal with Russia announced by Trump this month and the lifting of new sanctions on its energy sector, 'in practice no real progress in relations with the US is visible yet.' It is worth noting that the announcement of the deal came in the weeks before the midterm elections on 3 November.

Who was not invited and how it will all end

The Trump administration, which previously clashed with South Africa and imposed visa restrictions on South Africans, did not invite that country — a founding member of the G20 and the only African country in the group — to the meeting in Atlanta. The spokesperson for South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola, Fimdile Kunene, stated: 'We have consistently emphasised that our non-participation is not voluntary.' Ukraine, which is not a member of the G20 but was invited to previous ministerial meetings, was not invited this time: according to US officials, it was a deliberate decision to invite only formal members of the group. Under these circumstances, according to AFP, instead of a final declaration the meeting will likely conclude on Saturday with a chairman's summary drafted by the US.