South Africa Refuses to Hand Over G20 Presidency to ‘Junior’ US Official

The G20 summit seem to conclude on Sunday with a diplomatic squabble of the United States following the reluctance of the hosting country, South Africa, to hand over the rotating presidency to what it could only view as a junior representative of the US. It is noteworthy that the US had boycotted the two-day summit, but the country is to assume G20 presidency in the year 2026.

The scandal is that the US President Donald Trump boycotted the summit on accusations that South Africa is seeking to pursue racist and anti-White policies, and is persecuting its Afrikaner White minority. South Africa felt that the US had insulted its president, Cyril Ramaphosa, by only considering to send its diplomatic official in the embassy to the summit.

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South Africa’s foreign minister Ronald Lamola said, “The United States is a member of the G20, and if they want to be represented, they can still send anyone at the right level.”

He added, “It is the leaders’ summit. The right level is the head of state, a special envoy appointed by the president of that country, or it could also be a minister.”

It however made clear that it would later release it to handover which might be at its foreign ministry building.

US-South Africa diplomatic feud

The diplomatic relations between the United States and South Africa intensified this week after Ramaphosa announced that the United States changed its mind and was wanting to be part of the summit at the last minute.

The white house denied that assertion and indicated that it would only attend the official handover.

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Ramaphosa was “running his mouth a little bit against the United States and the president of the United States.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed that Ramaphosa was running his mouth a bit against the United States and the president of the United States.

South Africa also defied the custom in the first Group of Twenty summit to be hosted in Africa by publishing a declaration of leaders on the opening of the talks on Saturday. It is usually through declarations that a summit concludes.

The statement was issued even with the protest of the United States, which has taken a swipe at a South African plan involving the group, which is primarily climate change-oriented and global wealth disparity.

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