The G20 foreign ministers’ meeting opened in Atlanta, Georgia, on Friday without one of diplomacy’s most familiar rituals: the group photograph. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, hosting the two-day gathering, scrapped the traditional “family photo” after several European delegations said they would not stand alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The decision, taken shortly before the meeting began, set the tone for talks overshadowed by the wars in Ukraine and Iran, surging energy prices and deep disagreement over Russia’s place at the table. Opening the session, Rubio urged his counterparts to work together, telling them: “We are in a critical moment — I would call it a moment of choosing, and I would say not just for my country, the United States of America, but frankly, for the world.”
Key Takeaways
- The traditional G20 group photo was cancelled after European ministers refused to be pictured with Russia’s Sergey Lavrov.
- Rubio urged unity on threats to global trade, energy, food supplies and freedom of navigation, calling it “a moment of choosing”.
- No joint statement is expected; Washington will instead publish a chair’s summary ahead of December’s leaders’ summit in Miami.
The photo that never happened
The family photo is a staple of high-level gatherings, but this one collapsed before it could be taken. According to US officials cited by CNN and the Associated Press, more than a third of attending officials had threatened to walk out of a picture with Lavrov, and Washington had even explored taking two photographs — one with Lavrov and one without — before Rubio decided to drop the idea entirely.
A US official said Rubio judged that the drama around the photo would become a distraction and a spectacle that would overshadow the gathering. “Rather than allow a ceremonial photo opportunity to become a diplomatic distraction, the United States decided to forgo the photo and keep the focus on the substantive discussions,” another US official said.
Lavrov brushed off the row at a press conference later on Friday, telling reporters: “If what matters most to them is how they look in the family photo and who is standing next to them, well, that says it all.” He added that he had met briefly with Rubio and that they “had a fairly good conversation.”
We are in a critical moment — I would call it a moment of choosing, and I would say not just for my country, the United States of America, but frankly, for the world.
Why Europeans refused
European ministers made little secret of their position. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said ahead of the meeting that there would be no family photo featuring European partners together with Lavrov, adding that “there is no normalcy with Russia.” Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski called the cancellation “the right decision,” saying: “I am not the only one who does not want to be photographed with Lavrov.”
Canada’s Foreign Minister Anita Anand, who has been critical of Lavrov’s participation, missed the opening plenary session, and a Western diplomat said a third of participants objected, including Australia and Canada. European leaders have avoided appearing in photographs with Russian delegations at earlier G20 meetings this year too, as fighting continues after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Lavrov remains under Western sanctions imposed after that invasion.
The chill was on display elsewhere this week, as Russia warned Europe that it is ready for war, sharpening the divide between Moscow and the European capitals gathered in Atlanta.
Two wars hang over the table
Rubio urged members to cooperate on economic and geopolitical crises threatening global trade, energy and food supplies, and freedom of navigation. The Atlanta talks come as global energy prices have climbed sharply since the US war on Iran, with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz under strain after tankers caught fire there.
On Ukraine, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas pledged to urge G20 partners to strengthen support for Ukraine and pursue accountability through a special tribunal and claims commission, after a Russian strike on a Ukrainian railway station killed at least 14 people earlier that day. Diplomacy around the war continues on a separate track, with Ukraine’s president due in Turkey on Saturday for talks on the war and Black Sea security.
The meeting also comes days before US midterm elections, with President Donald Trump having teased further military action after the vote. Rubio is scheduled to meet his Saudi and Turkish counterparts in Atlanta, and the Quad grouping of the US, India, Japan and Australia is due to meet in the city in the coming days.
- More than a third of attending officials threatened to walk out of a photo with Lavrov, US officials said.
- Germany’s Wadephul: “There is no normalcy with Russia”; Poland’s Sikorski called the cancellation “the right decision”.
- No joint statement is expected; Washington will publish a chair’s summary instead.
- China sent Executive Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu in place of Foreign Minister Wang Yi; South Africa was excluded by Washington.
- The Atlanta talks are the last ministerial meeting before leaders meet in Miami on December 14 and 15.
A summit with no statement
Beyond the photograph, expectations for the meeting are low. No joint statement is expected, a diplomatic source told AFP, with Washington instead publishing a chair’s summary it has drafted. As one diplomatic assessment quoted in coverage put it, the G20 is no longer really a forum where foreign ministers can reach agreement on a statement.
The guest list itself told a story. China sent Executive Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu in place of Foreign Minister Wang Yi, South Africa — a founding G20 member — was excluded by Washington, and the African Union was represented by Burundi’s Edouard Bizimana. Ukraine, which is not a G20 member, was not invited.
The Atlanta meeting is the last ministerial gathering of the US G20 presidency before leaders meet in Miami on December 14 and 15 at President Trump’s Doral resort, with leaders from 55 nations and organizations expected.
What to Watch Next
What to watch next is whether the Atlanta talks produce anything beyond the chair’s summary, whether the rifts over Lavrov harden positions ahead of the December leaders’ summit in Miami, and whether energy and shipping pressures ease or sharpen the divisions on display in Atlanta. The missing photograph may prove to be the meeting’s most lasting image: a group of the world’s largest economies, unable to stand together for a picture.