The top diplomats from the Group of 20 largest world economies opened two days of meetings in Atlanta on Friday after European objections to Russia’s participation forced the US to cancel a photo of the foreign ministers, underscoring deep rifts among the group over global crises.
Concerns about any prospects for the talks escalated when the Europeans baulked at being photographed with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Because he thought the controversy would be a distraction, according to two US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, rubio decided to scrap the picture.
He added that “we also must not send falsely optimistic signals. The meeting in Atlanta is meant to set the stage for a G20 leaders’ summit hosted by President Donald Trump at his Miami golf club in December. It is unclear if Russian President Vladimir Putin will accept Trump’s invitation to that gathering. The meeting in Atlanta, which will otherwise go ahead as planned, is meant to set the stage for a G20 leaders’ summit hosted by President Donald Trump at his Miami golf club in December.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio decided to cancel the photo after determining that the controversy would be a distraction, according to two U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. Lavrov has travelled only infrequently to NATO member states since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and resulting severe sanctions were imposed on Moscow. Earlier reporting noted: U.S. scraps G20 photo after Europeans object to being pictured with Russia’s Lavrov The U.S. scrapped plans for a photo of top diplomats of the Group of 20 largest world economies on the opening day of talks on Friday (October 30, 2026) as several Europeans objected to being photographed with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and threatened to walk out of the photo session.
The British Foreign Office said in a statement that the United Kingdom “has a longstanding policy not to have direct, bilateral engagement with Russian ministers since the invasion of Ukraine and we are not about to change that. Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said the cancellation of the group photo was “the right decision” by the U.S., telling media in Atlanta that “I am not the only one who does not want to be photographed with Lavrov. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said “there is no normality with Russia” but “we must exchange the controversies at the table here,” the German news agency dpa reported. His presence in Atlanta could cause domestic political problems for Trump just days before the US congressional midterm elections as well as roil the G20, according to Ian Kelly, a US ambassador to Georgia during Trump’s first term. “It seems politically boneheaded to invite him,” said Kelly, who now teaches international relations and diplomacy at Northwestern University outside Chicago. “We have consistently maintained that our nonparticipation is not voluntary,” said Phindile Kunene, spokesperson for South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola. Those complications had created the impression that “not everyone in Washington is happy” about Mr. Lavrov attending, ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. But he would use the meeting to advocate for the “swift reform of global economic institutions,” she said.
Earlier reporting noted: U.S. Earlier reporting noted: Russia’s Foreign Ministry complained of issues securing visas for its delegation that were only resolved at the last minute.
