European Diplomats Refuse to Pose for Photo With Russia’s Lavrov at G20

The US canceled the traditional group “family” photograph at the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Atlanta on Friday, Oct. 30, after several European diplomats declined to pose alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Two officials confirmed this to BBC News, with a diplomatic source naming the UK among the countries that refused to take part. The photo traditionally features representatives of every attending country. Although several US and European lawmakers objected to Lavrov’s attendance, he joined the meeting.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “The UK has a longstanding policy not to have direct, bilateral engagement with Russian ministers since the invasion of Ukraine and we are not about to change that,” a British official told the broadcaster. Meanwhile, Ukraine was not invited to the gathering that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is hosting through Oct. 30-31. According to US officials, the decision reflected a policy of limiting invitations to formal members, even though Kyiv had attended previous meetings as a guest. The discussions took place the same day that Kyiv requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, after Russia’s strikes left at least 25 civilians dead and 110 wounded nationwide. Washington avoids ‘diplomatic distraction’ According to a US official, the photo was scrapped once it became clear that several delegations would not participate. To prevent “a ceremonial photo opportunity” from turning into “a diplomatic distraction,” Washington chose to drop the photograph altogether, the official said, adding that the focus would remain on the substantive talks. Other Topics of Interest Pope Leo XIV Votes in US Elections: First Time for a Pontiff The pontiff earlier said that he had “no fear” of the Trump administration or of speaking loudly about the message of the Gospel. Lavrov, who has been under US sanctions since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, arrived in Atlanta earlier on Friday, despite calls from US lawmakers to bar him from the country. “Lavrov should not be allowed in the country. As long as [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is waging war against Ukraine and bombing cities, Russian leaders should not be welcomed in any of these forums. They lead a pariah state,” Republican Rep. Don Bacon wrote in a statement on Wednesday, Oct. 28. Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sharply criticized US President Donald Trump’s approach to Moscow. “Donald Trump needs to wake up,” Shaheen said in an Oct. 8 CNN interview. “He needs to understand that courting favor with Vladimir Putin is not good for America.” Shaheen, who joined 13 bipartisan senators in calling for Putin and other sanctioned Russian officials to be barred from G20 events on US soil, called on Washington to increase pressure on Moscow rather than reward it. The criticism came ahead of the US midterm elections, which are scheduled for Nov. 3. The elections come as Trump faces severe pressure over record-high diesel prices, for which he has previously blamed Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil refineries rather than the US-Israeli war on Iran. Pope Leo XIV, who has repeatedly clashed with Trump’s administration over the US-Israeli war with Iran and immigration, cast his ballot in the US midterm elections by mail, officially becoming the first pontiff to do so. “I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel,” the pontiff said during his papal flight to Algeria earlier in April. Russia expected to challenge sanctions Lavrov is expected to use his appearance at the G20 to argue against economic sanctions and other trade restrictions on Moscow, portraying them as instruments of pressure. On Oct. 9, Trump struck an abrupt diesel deal with Putin, after which the US Treasury authorized the sale and import of Russian diesel through April 7, 2027. Although the deal has drawn scrutiny from Washington, Kyiv and Europe, Trump’s administration has continued easing sanctions on Russia. The New York Times reported on Oct. 27 that the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which helped arrange the diesel shipments, is now seeking the removal of US sanctions against it. The fund’s chief, Kirill Dmitriev, has become Moscow’s main economic channel to Trump’s team, working directly with senior US envoys Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. On Oct. 21, Witkoff publicly confirmed that Washington and Moscow are discussing future economic and trade cooperation, while revealing that the US Treasury Department is working directly with Dmitriev. The visit comes as Washington prepares new trilateral talks involving the US, Ukraine and Russia, expected in November in Abu Dhabi, which the European side is not expected to attend. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.