European diplomats shun Russia at G20 gathering in the US

Sergey Lavrov, under US sanctions for Russia's war on Ukraine, is photographed while he takes his seat at the G20 meetingImage: Erik S. Lesser/AFPAdvertisementA Group of 20 foreign ministers' meeting in the US city of Atlanta got off to a rocky start on Friday after top diplomats from European nations refused to take a "family photo" along with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is hosting the gathering, decided to scrap the photo before the meeting got underway because Washington didn't want it to become a spectacle or distraction.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told reporters before the first session on Friday that there wouldn't "be a family photo with European partners and Mr. Lavrov together because ... there is no normalcy with Russia."

The two-day gathering of the G20 grouping, which includes the EU, Russia, Germany, India, China, Brazil and other major countries, is meant to be a precursor to a G20 leaders summit later this December.

That G20 leaders meeting in December is set to be hosted by US President Donald Trump at his golf club in Miami. 

Rubio still opened the talks by stressing unity on major issues, telling his counterparts that they were in a "critical moment."

"We are facing a series of interconnected economic and geopolitical crises," he said.

He pointed to disruptions to global energy and trade and said many were posing "severe threats to essential foundations of the global economic order."

But several countries, including the United States and Russia, are involved in separate wars. Wars in Iran and Ukraine have resulted in a spike in food prices for people around the world.

While the message is about unity and finding solutions to problems like freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and the Strait of Hormuz during the G20 meeting, the reality is that finding common ground will likely be much tougher. 

Given a renewed momentum to revive talks to end the war in Ukraine, there was also interest in getting Lavrov to talk about Russia's stance on future talks with Kyiv.

The US has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to the G20 meeting in Miami, but it's unclear whether Russia has accepted the invitation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously said that he would be open to traveling to Miami to hold talks with Putin if he were also there.

The Kremlin has so far declined direct meetings with Zelenskyy, with Russia's Sergey Lavrov telling DW on the sidelines of the meeting that Putin is willing to meet with the Ukrainian leader if he travels to Moscow.

"President Putin said if he [Zelenskyy] is willing to meet, let him come to Moscow," Lavrov said. "We will guarantee his safety."

Lavrov declined to say whether Putin will attend the G20 summit this December.

Putin has not attended a G20 leaders meeting since 2019 and only attended a session virtually in 2023. 

Russia has also continued with its attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, stepping up drone strikes on water and energy infrastructure.

The European Union's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said ministers at the G20 meeting were able to call out Lavrov for his "lies" at the table.

"We were talking about the big geopolitical crises, including Ukraine, and we were able to address Sergey Lavrov head-on with this," Kallas said on the sidelines of the meeting.

"Of course, he put forward a lot of lies, a lot of false narratives that we were also able to then rebuke," she said.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband also called out Lavrov, saying, "If we are serious about our values and our interests, we must also work harder to secure just and lasting peace in Ukraine."

Lavrov, who is under international sanctions for Russia's war in Ukraine, was invited to the US at a time when the two countries have appeared to have fostered warmer ties.

Trump announced a diesel deal with Russia earlier this month and also waived new sanctions on Russia's energy. The US announced the move just weeks away from the midterm elections on November 3.

Lavrov said on Friday that despite those efforts, "in practice, no real progress in relations with the US has so far been seen."

The Trump administration has been embroiled in disputes with South Africa, having imposed visa restrictions on South Africanswho it said were complicit in discriminating against white people.

Ukraine, which is not a G20 member but was invited to attend previous such meetings, was not invited this year because US officials said they made a conscious choice to include only formal members of the group.

But US officials didn't extend that invite to South Africa, a G20 founding member and the only African country in the group.

"We have consistently maintained that our nonparticipation is not voluntary," said Phindile Kunene, spokesperson for South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola.

With this many issues on the table, it appeared less likely that there would be a joint consensus at the end of the talks.

Instead of a final declaration, the AFP news agency reported, the meeting is expected to end on Saturday with a chair summary drafted by the US.