G20 drops group photo as Europeans refuse to stand with Lavrov

Foreign ministers attend the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, US [Megan Varner/Reuters]

The United States has scrapped a traditional group photo of foreign ministers after European officials refused to be pictured alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The move exposes deep rifts at the heart of the Group of 20 (G20), whose foreign ministers are meeting in the southern city of Atlanta in the United States for talks overshadowed by the wars in Ukraine and Iran.

list 1 of 3 ‘Block, blunt, break’: What’s in NATO’s new Russia war plan?

list 2 of 3 G20 finance ministers, central bankers gather amid fallout from Iran war

list 3 of 3 Hegseth heads to Manila to shore up US ties with Asia-Pacific partners

“There will be no family photo featuring our European partners together with Mr Lavrov,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said, according to the dpa news agency.

Lavrov, who remains under Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, arrived in Atlanta ahead of the talks, Russian state media reported. Moscow said on Thursday that he would use his speech to argue against international sanctions. Ukraine was not invited, the Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National reported.

A diplomatic source told the AFP news agency that Russia’s presence at the G20 “in no way legitimises its actions”.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas pledged on Thursday to urge G20 partners to strengthen support for Ukraine and pursue accountability through a special tribunal and claims commission, after a Russian strike on a Ukrainian railway station killed at least 14 people earlier that day.

The meeting also comes weeks after US President Donald Trump issued sanctions waivers allowing Russia to export diesel to ease fuel prices before the November 3 midterm elections.

Opening the talks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged members to cooperate on economic and geopolitical crises threatening global trade, energy and food supplies, and freedom of navigation, dpa reported. Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz after US-Israeli strikes began in late February, and global energy prices have risen sharply since.

“Both maritime and food security drive economic security,” Rubio wrote on X.

No joint statement is expected. A diplomatic source told the AFP news agency that Washington will instead publish a chair’s summary it has drafted. The source added: “The G20 is no longer really a forum where foreign ministers can reach agreement on a statement.”

No government has said whether Rubio and Lavrov will hold a formal bilateral meeting.

China sent Executive Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu in place of Foreign Minister Wang Yi, according to a delegation list released by the Department of State. South Africa, a founding G20 member, has been excluded by Washington, and the African Union is represented by Burundi’s Edouard Bizimana.

The Atlanta talks are the last ministerial meeting of the US G20 presidency before leaders meet in Miami on December 14 and 15.

各国外长出席在美国佐治亚州亚特兰大举行的二十国集团外长会议。[Megan Varner/路透社]

在欧洲官员拒绝与俄罗斯外长谢尔盖·拉夫罗夫合影后，美国取消了传统的各国外长集体合影活动。

此举暴露了二十国集团（G20）核心的深刻裂痕，该集团的外长们正在美国南部城市亚特兰大举行会谈，但乌克兰和伊朗的战争使会谈蒙上了阴影。

列表 1/3 “封锁、钝化、突破”：北约新的对俄战争计划包含哪些内容？

二十国集团财长和央行行长齐聚伊朗战争余波之际，这是三国集团财长和央行行长会议的第二场。

名单3/3：赫格塞斯前往马尼拉，加强美国与亚太伙伴的关系

据德新社报道，德国外交部长约翰·瓦德普尔表示：“不会有我们的欧洲伙伴与拉夫罗夫先生一起拍摄家庭合影。”

据俄罗斯国家媒体报道，拉夫罗夫在会谈前抵达亚特兰大。他仍受西方因俄罗斯2022年全面入侵乌克兰而实施的制裁。莫斯科周四表示，他将在会谈中反对国际制裁。总部位于阿布扎比的《国家报》报道称，乌克兰未受邀参加此次会谈。

一位外交消息人士告诉法新社，俄罗斯出席二十国集团峰会“绝不能使其行为合法化”。

欧盟外交政策负责人卡娅·卡拉斯周四承诺，将敦促二十国集团伙伴加强对乌克兰的支持，并通过特别法庭和索赔委员会追究责任。此前，俄罗斯袭击了乌克兰的一个火车站，造成至少 14 人死亡。

此次会晤也发生在美国总统唐纳德·特朗普发布制裁豁免令，允许俄罗斯出口柴油以在11月3日中期选举前缓解燃油价格的几周之后。

据德新社报道，美国国务卿马可·卢比奥在会谈开幕式上敦促成员国在威胁全球贸易、能源和粮食供应以及航行自由的经济和地缘政治危机上开展合作。自2月底美以发动空袭以来，伊朗封锁了霍尔木兹海峡，全球能源价格也随之大幅上涨。

“海洋安全和粮食安全都对经济安全至关重要，”鲁比奥在 X 上写道。

预计不会发表联合声明。一位外交消息人士告诉法新社，华盛顿将改为发布一份由其起草的主席团摘要。该消息人士补充说：“二十国集团已经不再是各国外长能够就声明达成一致的论坛了。”

目前尚无任何政府表态鲁比奥和拉夫罗夫是否会举行正式的双边会晤。

根据美国国务院公布的代表团名单，中国派出外交部常务副部长马朝旭代替外交部长王毅。二十国集团创始成员国南非被华盛顿排除在外，非洲联盟则由布隆迪的爱德华·比齐马纳代表。

亚特兰大会谈是美国担任二十国集团主席国期间举行的最后一次部长级会议，各国领导人将于12月14日至15日在迈阿密举行会议。