G20 group photo scrapped over Russia's Lavrov
The US canceled the traditional G20 foreign ministers' photo in Atlanta after several delegations refused to stand with Russia's Sergey Lavrov.
Developing story. Details may change as more information is confirmed.
The United States canceled the traditional group photo at a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Atlanta on Friday after several delegations, including European countries, Britain and Australia, refused to pose alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
A US official said the photo was dropped so that a ceremonial moment would not become a diplomatic distraction. During the talks, Britain's foreign secretary told Lavrov directly that everyone knew who the aggressor was in the war in Ukraine. Ukraine, which is not a G20 member, was not invited to this meeting.
The two-day gathering, hosted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is focused on energy security, supply chains and the wars in Ukraine and Iran, with oil prices still high. Deep divisions mean the ministers are expected to finish without a joint communique; instead, the US plans to issue a chairman's statement summing up the talks.
The meeting comes as relations between Washington and Moscow have partly thawed, with President Donald Trump easing some sanctions and agreeing to import Russian diesel, a move criticized by Ukraine and its European allies. The United States hosts the G20 leaders' summit in Florida in December. This is a developing story.
This summary is original reporting by tehworldnews, written after checking the facts against several major international news outlets and official statements.