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G20 'family photo' cancelled after protests over presence of Russian minister

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European foreign ministers refused to be pictured with Sergei Lavrov at the summit being held in Atlanta.

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This story was published by BBC World on October 30, 2026 and curated on Africa Front.

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African Politics, Protests & Civil Unrest, South Africa News

October 30, 2026

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G20 'family photo' cancelled after protests over presence of Russian minister

Published30 October 2026, 17:08 GMT

European diplomats have refused to stand for an official photo with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the US, leading to the American hosts cancelling the planned picture.

Two officials confirmed to the BBC the cancellation of the so-called family photo scheduled for Friday morning, which would usually include representatives from all the nations in attendance.

The meeting, which gathers top diplomats from the world's biggest economies, is being hosted in Atlanta by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Ukraine is not not a G20 member but has been invited to similar meetings in recent years. However, Ukraine was not invited to this meeting.

Relations between Ukraine and the US have been particularly tense this month, with a diplomatic standoff between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump over Kyiv's strikes on oil infrastructure within Russia.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is present and a diplomatic source confirmed the UK was among the countries which 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".

A US official said the photo was cancelled "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.

In contrast to Ukraine, relations between the US and Russia appear to have partially thawed in recent weeks, as Trump waived some sanctions and agreed a deal to import Russian diesel for the American market.

The move comes as Trump attempts to lower fuel prices in the US ahead of mid-term elections at the start of November, after months spent grappling with the political consequences of the Iran war.

Ukraine and its European allies have heavily criticised Trump's deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zelensky called it "a gift" to Putin that amounts to "an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged".

Trump said his decision to suspend several Russian sanctions is an effort to keep Moscow at the negotiating table in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

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 in recent weeks intensified its deadly missile and drone attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.