Russia challenges US over South Africa’s exclusion from G20

Russia has directly confronted the United States over South Africa's exclusion from the G20, arguing that Washington lacked the authority to exclude a full member from the group. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking at the UN, stated that he personally raised the issue with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, stressing that the G20 presidency did not grant Washington the power to decide which member states can participate.

This move bolsters South Africa's rejection of its exclusion following the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Miami Summit in December, despite his facing an ICC arrest warrant. Lavrov explained that an invitation from the G20 effectively serves as notification to an existing member of the date and location of a summit, without granting the hosting country the right to withhold such an invitation from a member state.

He further contends that excluding South Africa while inviting Poland surpassed Washington's authority. South Africa maintains that, as a founding G20 member, it has the right to participate, but International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola emphasized that the country will not attend without an invitation and would not seek a boycott.