The South African government has rejected a warning from the United States that no declaration should be issued at the upcoming G20 Leaders’ Summit without Washington’s participation. Pretoria maintains that the US cannot dictate the outcome of a meeting it has chosen to boycott.
According to reports, the US sent a formal communication to South Africa cautioning against issuing a G20 declaration at the summit scheduled for this weekend.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said preparations for the summit and its declaration remain on track.
“We are working towards a declaration formed from the consensus reached by countries who are here and fully participating,” he said. “The US can’t boycott a meeting and dictate its outcomes.”
The letter from Washington was interpreted as a final attempt to undermine South Africa’s G20 presidency. Pretoria has been engaging with other G20 member states to secure agreement on a leaders’ declaration.
It is understood that the US has been pressuring some allies not to endorse any declaration during the summit. Despite this, France has publicly expressed its support for South Africa’s leadership, with discussions said to be at an advanced stage.
Current negotiations are based on the principle that a declaration can be adopted by all countries represented at the summit. The US has opted for a complete boycott, with no officials attending.
In a diplomatic note dated November 15, Washington stated that it “opposes issuance of any G20 summit outcome document under the premise of a consensus G20 position, without US agreement”.
The message added that if a document is released, it should be issued solely as a “Chair’s Statement” to reflect the absence of consensus.
The US further informed Pretoria that it would not participate in the G20 Sherpa Meeting held from November 16–19, nor the Leaders’ Summit scheduled for November 22–23. It cited differences with South Africa’s G20 priorities as the reason for its non-participation.
This development followed an announcement by President Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform that his administration would not send a delegation to South Africa for the summit.
South Africa, however, insists the summit will proceed as planned, including the adoption of a leaders’ declaration and the formal handover process, despite the US no-show.
