G20 'Family Photo' Cancelled After European Ministers Refuse to Pose with Russia's Lavrov
European diplomats declined to take part in a planned group photograph with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Atlanta, prompting the American hosts to cancel the traditional picture.
BBC Politics
A traditional group photograph at the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Atlanta has been cancelled after European diplomats refused to stand alongside Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Two officials confirmed to the BBC that the so-called family photo, scheduled for Friday morning and normally including representatives from every nation in attendance, was dropped after it became clear some delegations would not take part.
The meeting, which gathers top diplomats from the world's biggest economies, is being hosted by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. A US official said the photo was cancelled "after it became clear some of the delegations were unwilling to participate in a joint photo", adding that rather than let a ceremonial moment become a diplomatic distraction, the US decided to forgo it and keep the focus on substantive discussions.
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is among those present, and a diplomatic source confirmed the UK was one of the countries that refused to participate in the picture. One British official said: "The UK 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."
Ukraine, which is not a G20 member but has been invited to similar meetings in recent years, was not invited to this meeting. Relations between Kyiv and Washington have been particularly tense this month, with a diplomatic standoff between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump over Ukraine's strikes on oil infrastructure inside Russia.
The episode contrasts with warming ties between Washington and Moscow in recent weeks. Trump has waived some sanctions and agreed a deal to import Russian diesel for the American market, a move he has framed as an effort to lower fuel prices ahead of mid-term elections at the start of November, after months contending with the political fallout of the Iran war. Trump has said suspending several Russian sanctions is intended to keep Moscow at the negotiating table.
Ukraine and its European allies have criticised the deal heavily. Zelensky called it "a gift" to Russian President Vladimir Putin that amounts to "an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged". Putin has said Russia, which introduced a ban on diesel exports earlier this year, is willing to supply both the US and global markets with oil and petroleum products.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and currently controls approximately a fifth of Ukrainian territory. Moscow has intensified its missile and drone attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, even as it agrees to resume peace talks at the US's prompting.