US cancels G20 group photo in Atlanta after European ministers object to posing with Russia's Lavrov

The United States cancelled the traditional group photo of foreign ministers at the G20 meeting in Atlanta on Friday 30 October after several European delegations objected to being photographed with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the BBC, AP and Euronews reported.

A US official told the BBC the photo was dropped “after it became clear some of the delegations were unwilling to participate in a joint photo”. “Rather than allow a ceremonial photo opportunity to become a diplomatic distraction, the US decided to forgo the photo and keep the focus on the substantive discussions,” the official said.

A British official told the BBC the UK has “a longstanding policy not to have direct, bilateral engagement with Russian ministers” since the invasion of Ukraine. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski called the cancellation “the right decision”, Euronews reported, adding: “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 that disputes must be raised “at the table”, according to the German news agency dpa.

Lavrov attended the opening session, seated between the foreign ministers of Mexico and Saudi Arabia, TASS reported. Ukraine, which is not a G20 member, was not invited, the BBC reported.

Opening the two-day meeting, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the present “a moment of choosing” and said the G20 faced “a series of interconnected economic and geopolitical crises”, including strains on energy and food supplies, supply chains, trade and freedom of navigation, according to a State Department transcript. The meeting prepares for the G20 leaders’ summit the US hosts in Miami in December.