The South African government has berated the United States for staying away from the ongoing G20 Leaders Summit in Johannesburg.
The spokesperson of South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation, Chrispin Phiri, told journalists on Thursday that the U.S. absence at the summit negates its role over the Group of 20 (G20)’s conclusions.
He reiterated that Pretoria would not be bullied.
Phiri made the remarks in response to Washington’s decision not to attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, as well as its objection to the issuance of any outcome document presented as a G20 consensus without U.S. consent.
Earlier, South African G20 Sous-Sherpa Xolisa Mabhongo confirmed receiving a letter from the U.S. in which Washington said it would only accept a “chair’s statement” reflecting a lack of consensus.
“We cannot allow coercion by absentia to become a viable tactic,” Phiri said. “It is a recipe for institutional paralysis and the breakdown of collective action.”
South Africa assumed the rotating G20 presidency on December 1, 2024, becoming the first African country to hold the position.
The U.S. is scheduled to take over the presidency on December 1.
Tensions between Pretoria and Washington flared up shortly after President Donald Trump returned to the White House in late January.
He had signed an executive order to freeze U.S. aid to South Africa in February, alleging the Expropriation Act, a land reform law South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed in January, is “discriminating” against the country’s white people.
