White House denies reversing G20 boycott, hits out at South African president

The White House hit out on Thursday at South Africa’s leader for “running his mouth” over the United States’ boycott of this weekend’s Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg in another diplomatic rift between the US and a country that has been especially targeted for criticism by President Donald Trump. South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters in Johannesburg that the US had indicated it was changing its mind over its boycott of the G20 leaders summit at the “11th hour” and wanted to take part. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that was not true and had sharp words for Ramaphosa in response. “I saw the South African president running his mouth a little bit against the United States and the president of the United States earlier today, and that language is not appreciated by the president or his team,” Leavitt said at the White House. She said the US was sending a diplomatic official to the summit to simply recognise that the US would take over the rotating presidency of the bloc and host next year’s G20 summit. A representative from the US embassy in South Africa would attend the formal handover ceremony at the end of the two-day summit that opens on Saturday, but Washington still would not take part in any talks, a White House official said. The official was not authorised to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Trump announced this month that no US government official would attend the meeting of world leaders from rich and developing countries in South Africa’s biggest city. Trump cited his claims that South Africa was violently persecuting the country’s white Afrikaner minority farmers as the reason for the US boycott. Those statements by Trump have been widely rejected. A formal handover ceremony is traditional at the end of each G20 summit and Ramaphosa previously expressed disappointment that the US boycott would mean that he hands over to an “empty chair” at the end of the summit. On Thursday, the South African president said that he welcomed US participation at Africa’s first G20 summit “in one shape or form or another” and viewed the late communication as a “pleasing” change of approach from the world’s biggest economy. “The United States is a member of the G20, they are an original member of the G20, so they have the right to be here,” Ramaphosa said. “And all we are seeking to do is looking at the practicalities ... for them to participate.” Ramaphosa had also addressed the US boycott - which threatened to undermine the summit - earlier Thursday, when he said that the G20 meeting would issue a joint declaration, despite pressure from Washington not to issue one. A South African G20 official said earlier this week that the US had sent diplomatic communication to South Africa advising that there should be no declaration adopted at the summit, because the US was not there and therefore there would be no consensus. Instead, the US wanted a toned-down statement from South Africa only to cap the summit, which is a culmination of more than 120 meetings that Africa’s most advanced economy has hosted since it took over the G20’s rotating presidency for this year. Speaking to reporters after an earlier speech, Ramaphosa said: “We will have a declaration. The talks are going extremely well. I’m confident we are moving towards a declaration, and they are now just dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s. “Without the United States, the whole process of the G20 is moving forward. We will not be bullied. We will not agree to be bullied.” Other leaders have expressed hope that the summit would result in a declaration. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Wednesday that he hoped for “joint decisions”, but conceded that “that is not entirely certain”. Trump has repeatedly targeted South Africa for criticism since he returned to office. He held a tense meeting with Ramaphosa at the White House in May, when he confronted South Africa’s leader with baseless claims of widespread violence against Afrikaners, who are descendants of Dutch, French and German settlers who first came to South Africa in the 17th century. The US president has repeated his claims in the lead-up to the G20 that Ramaphosa’s black-led government was pursuing racist anti-white policies against Afrikaners. The G20 is a bloc made up of 19 nations, including the richest but also the top developing economies, the European Union and the African Union. The bloc is meant to bring developed and developing nations together to find solutions to global problems. South Africa, the first African nation to hold the rotating presidency, was hoping to use its summit to make progress on issues especially affecting poor countries. That includes mitigating the impact of climate change and weather-related disasters, easing debt burdens for developing countries and confronting global wealth inequality. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa met with Ramaphosa on Thursday in Johannesburg and expressed support for South Africa’s agenda. The US has previously derided South Africa’s priorities for the group, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio skipping a G20 foreign ministers meeting in February and dismissing South Africa’s priorities as being about diversity, equity and inclusion and climate change. Rubio said that he would not waste US taxpayer money on that agenda. Other leaders are also skipping the G20 summit, including Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Argentine President Javier Milei, but they have sent delegations to represent them in the talks. “The only country that is not in the room is the United States and, of course, it is their choice not to be in the room,” Xolisa Mabhongo, a South African ambassador to the G20, told national broadcaster SABC this week.

White House denies reversing G20 boycott, hits out at South African president

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Cyril Ramaphosa said the US had a last-minute change of mind, but the White House had sharp words in response

Cyril Ramaphosa said the US had a last-minute change of mind, but the White House had sharp words in response