As final preparations are made for the G20 summit this weekend, a diplomatic rift has widened between the United States and host nation South Africa, with the White House officially confirming its boycott of the talks and pressuring the government against issuing a joint declaration.
The confirmation came from White House Press Secretary Caroline Levit on Thursday, following remarks by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that suggested Washington had reversed its decision. Levit clarified that the U.S. would only send a diplomatic delegation to the handover ceremony concluding the event but would not participate in any summit negotiations.
The boycott was initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has cited his claims that South Africa is violently persecuting white Afrikaner minority farmers as the reason for the withdrawal. These claims have been widely rejected by fact-checkers and the South African government.
In response to the pressure, President Ramaphosa struck a defiant tone. While expressing regret over America’s absence, he insisted that the summit would proceed to issue a joint declaration and that the participating nations would not be intimidated.
“We will not be bullied,” Ramaphosa said, according to a transcript of his remarks.
The situation sets the stage for a tense international gathering in Johannesburg, where the agenda of rich and developing nations will proceed without the participation of the world’s largest economy, and under the host’s firm declaration of diplomatic independence.