South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa vowed that G20 leaders “will not be bullied” as the United States confirmed it will not participate in this weekend’s summit on African soil.
The White House pushed back after Ramaphosa suggested Washington had “changed its mind.” Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the US would send only a diplomatic team to the closing handover ceremony – recognising that America will host next year’s G20 at President Donald Trump’s Doral golf club in Florida – but would not take part in negotiations.
Trump has cited his widely rejected claims that South Africa is violently persecuting white Afrikaner farmers as the reason for the boycott. The US president confronted Ramaphosa with the same allegation during a tense White House meeting in May, despite offering no evidence.
Washington’s pressure and Pretoria’s pushback
South African officials say the US has warned Pretoria against issuing a joint declaration, arguing that consensus is impossible without American participation. Instead, Washington wants a toned-down statement delivered solely by the host nation, even though the summit concludes more than 120 preparatory meetings held under South Africa’s rotating presidency.
Ramaphosa rejected the pressure outright, insisting the G20 must proceed. “Without the United States, the whole process of the G20 is moving forward. We will not be bullied,” he told reporters.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed hope on Wednesday for “joint decisions,” though he acknowledged consensus “is not entirely certain.”
As the first African country to chair the G20, South Africa aims to spotlight the challenges most affecting poorer nations – climate-fuelled disasters, unsustainable debt burdens and global inequality. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa voiced support for that agenda during talks with Ramaphosa in Johannesburg.
Other major leaders – China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and Argentina’s Javier Milei – are skipping the summit but sending delegations.
“The only country that is not in the room is the United States, and, of course, it is their choice not to be in the room,” South Africa’s G20 ambassador Xolisa Mabhongo told SABC.
