US says Johannesburg meeting cannot issue final statement without its presence and that summit’s priorities ‘run counter to US policy views’
South Africa has accused the US of attempting “coercion by absentia” after Donald Trump’s administration confirmed it would boycott the G20 meeting in Johannesburg and said no final statement by G20 leaders could be issued without its presence.
The US sent a note last weekend confirming none of its officials would be attending the G20 leaders’ summit on 22 to 23 November, the first to be held in Africa, and that it would not accept any declaration issued at the end of it.
Trump has accused South Africa of racially discriminating against the minority white Afrikaner community, which led the country during the apartheid regime that ended in 1994. South Africa’s government has vehemently denied the allegations.
Chrispin Phiri, a spokesperson for South Africa’s foreign ministry, said: “Washington’s absence negates its role over the G20’s conclusions. But we cannot allow coercion by absentia to become a viable tactic; it is a recipe for institutional paralysis and the breakdown of collective action.”
