G20 photo scrapped amid tensions over Russian foreign minister’s presence
G20 Meeting Opens in Atlanta Without Traditional Group Photo
Goldlaner.com – Foreign ministers gathering in Atlanta for the G20 meeting began their discussions Friday without the customary “family photo,” after objections mounted over sharing the image with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
More than one-third of the officials attending had indicated they could leave rather than appear in a group photograph alongside Lavrov, two Western officials said. The dispute placed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the middle of a symbolic but politically charged decision at a meeting already marked by sharp divisions over Russia’s war in Ukraine, global economic pressures and possible future conflict involving Iran.
US organizers considered holding separate photographs, with one including Lavrov and another excluding him, three people familiar with the discussions said. Rubio ultimately chose to cancel the photo entirely, ending a ceremonial tradition common at major international summits.
A US official said the secretary of state concluded that an argument over the image risked turning into a spectacle and drawing attention away from the meeting’s agenda. Another official said some delegations had made clear that they would not join a shared photograph.
“Rather than allow a ceremonial photo opportunity to become a diplomatic distraction, the United States decided to forgo the photo and keep the focus on the substantive discussions and shared priorities of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.”
Lavrov Dismisses Dispute Over Image
Lavrov brushed aside the disagreement during a later news conference in Atlanta, portraying the controversy as a sign of misplaced priorities.
“If what matters most to them is how they look in the family photo and who is standing next to them, well, that says it all.”
The Russian foreign minister also said he spoke briefly with Rubio during the ministerial and described their exchange as positive.
“We had a fairly good conversation.”
The canceled photograph underscored the difficulty of maintaining the G20’s usual appearance of unity. The group brings together major economies with widely different positions on security, trade and the conflicts shaping global politics. Even the closing document was expected to reflect those differences, with participants anticipating a statement from the chair rather than a jointly negotiated declaration.
That outcome would signal that the 20 countries could not settle on shared language covering the most sensitive issues. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said the composition of the gathering itself made a common position hard to achieve.
“We have wars going on and we have participants in those wars around the table, so it’s very difficult to agree a common line.”
Ukraine and Iran Loom Over Talks
Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine remained central to the Atlanta discussions. A possible return to US military action against Iran also hung over the meeting after President Donald Trump suggested that such action could resume after Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Rubio met separately with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia and Turkey, while ministers used the opening session to address strains affecting energy supplies, food markets, trade routes and the broader global economy.
In his welcoming remarks, Rubio said the ministers were meeting at a decisive point for the international system. He warned that overlapping economic and geopolitical crises were putting essential pillars of the global economic order under pressure.
“We are facing a series of interconnected economic and geopolitical crises, many of which pose severe threats – severe threats to essential foundations of the global economic order.”
He pointed to disruptions involving energy, food, supply chains, trade and freedom of navigation, arguing that the G20 needed to work together to build economic resilience and protect the markets supporting national economies.
“And the G20 must work together to confront these threats, to strengthen our economic resilience, to safeguard our markets and the economies that they sustain.”
Several ministers reiterated support for Ukraine during the opening session. British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband directly addressed Lavrov, accusing Russia of continuing a war of aggression and citing an attack on Dnipro railway the previous day that killed 15 people.
“Let me say this directly to the Russian foreign minister - we all know who the aggressor in this war is.”
“Let’s talk about what happened at Dnipro railway yesterday. Only yesterday your drones attacked and killed 15 people. And there are countless examples like this of you killing innocent civilians throughout this war.”
“We all know you are the aggressor. We all know you started this war four and a half years ago with the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.”
Strains Between Washington and European Partners
The meeting also exposed wider disagreement between the Trump administration and several European governments over policy toward Moscow. European officials have been particularly concerned about economic concessions offered to Russia while the war continues.
In recent weeks, Trump reached an oil agreement with Moscow and waived sanctions on Russia, while increasing pressure on Kyiv to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries. A senior Russian official said discussions have taken place over potentially removing US sanctions from Russia’s multibillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund.
Those developments have come as Russia continues deadly attacks against civilian targets in Ukraine, intensifying criticism from European governments that believe Moscow should face greater pressure rather than expanded economic engagement.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul sought Friday morning to play down differences between Washington and its European partners. Yet the abandoned group photo offered a visible reminder that the diplomatic split is not limited to negotiations behind closed doors.
For the G20, the episode illustrated how even an event designed for unity can become difficult when leaders and ministers cannot agree on the basic symbols of cooperation. The work of the meeting now turns to whether its participants can find enough common ground on economic stability and shared risks to produce meaningful progress despite their deep political divides.
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