Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has challenged the United States over its decision to exclude South Africa from the G20. Image credit Supplied
Russia has directly challenged the United States over the South Africa G20 exclusion. Moscow argues that Washington has no authority to shut a full member out of the group. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov raised the matter with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
According to Lavrov, a G20 invitation to a member is simply a notice. It tells an existing member when and where the summit will take place. For this reason, he argued that the host cannot choose to leave a member out.
In addition, Lavrov pointed out that changes to G20 membership require consensus among all members. As a result, he said, the United States cannot change the group on its own.
Why Russia opposes the South Africa G20 exclusion
The United States holds the G20 presidency this year. It will host the leaders’ summit near Miami in December. So far, it has not invited South Africa.
Furthermore, Lavrov objected to the invitation Washington sent to Poland. Poland is not a G20 member, yet it will attend as a guest. Meanwhile, South Africa has been a member since the group started in 1999.
At the same time, Rubio confirmed that President Donald Trump has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to the summit. The Kremlin says it is considering the invitation.
The dispute began in late 2025, after a disagreement over the handover at the Johannesburg summit. Soon after, Trump announced that South Africa would not take part in 2026. He linked the decision to his claims about the treatment of white South Africans and to land reform. However, Pretoria has rejected these claims.
Since then, the exclusion has gone beyond the summit itself. In April, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago could not attend G20 meetings in the United States. Similarly, South African officials have missed several other G20 meetings this year.
Russia has spoken out on the issue before. In July, Russian G20 sherpa Denis Agafonov called the decision illegitimate. Later, Russian ambassador at large Marat Berdyev described it as an egregious violation.
For its part, South Africa has kept a measured tone. International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola said the country is disappointed that it may miss the summit. Still, he said South Africa will attend if Washington invites it. On the other hand, it will not go without an invitation or call for a boycott.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has also rejected the exclusion. He has stressed that South Africa is a founding member of the G20.
For now, the South Africa G20 exclusion remains in place. Russia and other partners continue to push Washington to change course before December.
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