G20 Photo Scrapped as Europeans Refuse to Stand With Lavrov
The United States cancelled the traditional ‘family photo’ at the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Atlanta after European diplomats, including the UK’s, refused to pose with Russia’s Sergei Lavrov. A US official said Washington had dropped the picture rather than let it become “a diplomatic distraction”. Ukraine was not invited to the meeting, which is hosted by Marco Rubio.
A British official said the UK had “a longstanding policy not to have direct, bilateral engagement with Russian ministers” since the invasion. The Foreign Secretary, Ed Miliband, is attending. The episode shows how far European capitals have drifted from Washington, which has partly thawed relations with Moscow. Trump has waived some sanctions and agreed to import Russian diesel ahead of next week’s midterms. Volodymyr Zelensky called the deal “a gift” to Putin. Relations between Kyiv and Washington have been strained this month over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure.