U.S. cancels G20 family photo over Lavrov — SkimNews
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- G20’s American hosts cancelled the planned Friday “family photo” after European diplomats refused to stand in the official image with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov; two officials confirmed the cancellation.
- Ed Miliband told Lavrov, “We all know who the aggressor in this war is,” accused his government of killing innocent civilians in Ukraine, and urged G20 countries to apply economic and diplomatic pressure to deprive Putin of revenues from the war.
- U.S. official said the photo was called off after it became clear some delegations would not join, adding that the choice was intended to avoid a diplomatic distraction and keep attention on substantive discussions.
- Ukraine, which is not a G20 member, was not invited to the Atlanta meeting despite receiving invitations to similar gatherings in recent years.
- UK official said its longstanding policy of no direct bilateral engagement with Russian ministers since the 2022 invasion would not change for the summit.
- Trump waived some Russian sanctions and agreed to import Russian diesel for the American market as he sought to lower U.S. fuel prices before Tuesday’s midterms.
- State Department approved the sale of more than $2bn in Patriot missiles to Ukraine as Russia intensified missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and continued to control about one-fifth of Ukrainian territory.
Why it matters: By cancelling the customary photo, the U.S. said it was preserving the summit’s focus on substantive discussions, but the G20 was left without its usual all-delegations image. The sharper divide was policy: Miliband demanded pressure on Putin while Washington pursued sanctions waivers, a Russian-diesel deal and approval of more than $2bn in Patriot sales for Ukraine.
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