'We will not be bullied,' Ramaphosa says as US confirms boycott of G20 Summit in Johannesburg

As Johannesburg gears up to host this weekend’s G20 summit of rich and developing nations, the United States has once again said that it won’t participate. 

On Thursday, the White House responded to comments by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that Washington had “changed its mind.” Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the US would send a diplomatic delegation to the handover ceremony at the end of the event, but won’t participate in talks. The handover is meant to recognize that near year’s G20 will be hosted by the US. It’s scheduled to take place at President Donald Trump’s golf club in Doral, Florida. 

Trump has cited his claims that South Africa is violently persecuting the country’s white Afrikaner minority farmers as the reason for the US boycott - claims that have been widely rejected. 

Trump has repeatedly targeted South Africa for criticism since he returned to office. He held a tense meeting with Ramaphosa at the White House in May, when he confronted the South African leader with baseless claims of widespread violence against Afrikaners, who are descendants of Dutch, French and German settlers who first came to South Africa in the 17th century.

Joint declaration

President Ramaphosa has insisted that the Summit will issue a joint declaration, despite pressure from Washington not to do so.

A South African G20 official said earlier this week that Washington had sent diplomatic communication to South Africa advising that that there should be no declaration adopted at the summit, because the American delegation wasn’t there and therefore there would be no consensus.

Instead, the US wants a toned-down statement from South Africa only to cap the summit, which is a culmination of more than 120 meetings that Africa’s most advanced economy has hosted since it took over the G20’s rotating presidency for this year.

Ramaphosa said he regretted America’s absence but insisted that those participating in the summit “will not agree to be bullied.” 

“Without the United States, the whole process of the G20 is moving forward. We will not be bullied," he told reporters.

Other leaders have expressed hope that the summit results in a declaration. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Wednesday that he hopes for “joint decisions,” but conceded that “that is not entirely certain.”

Progressive agenda

South Africa, which is the first African nation to hold the rotating presidency, is hoping to use its summit to make progress on issues especially affecting poor countries. That includes mitigating the impact of climate change and weather-related disasters, easing debt burdens for developing countries and confronting global wealth inequality.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa met with Ramaphosa on Thursday in Johannesburg and expressed support for South Africa’s agenda.

The US has previously derided South Africa’s priorities for the group, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio skipping a G20 foreign ministers meeting in February and dismissing South Africa’s priorities as being about diversity, equity and inclusion and climate change. Rubio said that he wouldn’t waste US taxpayer money on that agenda.

Other leaders are also skipping the G20 summit, including Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Argentine President Javier Milei, but they have sent delegations to represent them in the talks.

“The only country that is not in the room is the United States and, of course, it is their choice not to be in the room,” Xolisa Mabhongo, a South African ambassador to the G20, told national broadcaster SABC this week.