JOHANNESBURG: South Africa said Thursday it was prepared to wait out next year’s G20 after being barred by the United States and did not expect other countries to lobby for its inclusion.
The United States this month took over the year-long presidency of the group of leading economies after largely boycotting South Africa’s tenure, including the November summit, in an escalation of its attacks on Pretoria.
President Donald Trump said on social media late November that South Africa would not be invited to the summit in Miami, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio repeated in comments Wednesday.
“We are yet to receive it in writing and we will deal with that when it comes,” President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters on Thursday.
South Africa was “fully fledged member of the G20” and its presidency had been internationally described as successful, he said.
