South Africa says President will not hand G20 to U.S. embassy official

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa volition not manus the adjacent presidency of the G20 to a U.S. embassy typical aft U.S. President Donald Trumprefused to be this weekend’s summit, the South African authorities said Saturday (November 22, 2025).

Also read: G20 Summit successful Johannesburg highlights

The Trump medication has boycotted the Johannesburg gathering that wraps up connected Sunday (November 23, 2025) and said it would nonstop the chargé d'affaires of its U.S. embassy successful South Africa for the handover, with Washington assuming the 2026 presidency of the radical of starring economies.

Mr. Ramaphosa “will not beryllium handing implicit to the complaint d'affaires from the U.S.,” Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola told journalists.

“The United States is simply a subordinate of the G20, and if they privation to beryllium represented, they tin inactive nonstop anyone astatine the close level,” helium said.

This would beryllium the caput of state, Minister oregon a “special envoy appointed by the President”, Mr. Lamola said.

Otherwise, a handover could instrumentality spot astatine authorities offices betwixt officials of the aforesaid ranking, helium said.

Mr. Trump’s lack from the Johannesburg acme follows his withdrawal of the United States from different multilateral events and his feud with Pretoria implicit a scope of planetary and home issues, including claims that achromatic South Africans are persecuted.

The U.S. embassy told South Africa up of the acme that its priorities “run counter” to U.S. argumentation views and nary associated declaration could beryllium issued aft the gathering due to the fact that of its lack and objections.

The meeting, which brought unneurotic astir 2 twelve satellite leaders, adopted connected Saturday (November 22, 2025) a leaders’ declaration that called for bid successful Ukraine, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the “Occupied Palestinian Territory”, arsenic good arsenic safeguards connected the planetary proviso of captious minerals.

“We cannot beryllium held backmost by 1 country,” statesmanlike spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told reporters.