The United States cancelled the traditional group photograph at the G20 foreign ministers meeting in Atlanta on Friday, after about a third of the delegations said they would refuse to be pictured alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the call, according to CNN, after officials warned that a boycott or walkout would turn the opening ritual into a distraction. A US official told CNN the decision kept the focus on the substantive talks.
The UK, Australia and several European nations had made their positions clear before the session. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said there would be no family photo with European partners and Lavrov together, because there was no normality in relations with Russia. UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said Britain had not engaged with Russian ministers in that way for years.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong used the opening session to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in Lavrov’s presence, and a spokesperson for Wong later backed the cancellation, saying Australia would not normalise the invasion.
Lavrov dismissed the row at a press conference later on Friday, calling it “family photo diplomacy”. He said he had met briefly with Rubio and that they had a fairly good conversation. The ministerial meeting itself went ahead as scheduled.
Source: CNN
