November 23, 2025 | 09:35 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The United States has accused South Africa of disregarding the founding principles of the G20 after the release of a leaders’ declaration addressing the climate crisis.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said on Saturday, November 22, that President Cyril Ramaphosa pushed for the declaration despite firm US objections, TRT World reported.
Kelly added that President Donald Trump hopes to restore the G20’s legitimacy when the United States hosts the summit in 2026.
The tension emerged alongside the absence of the official US delegation at the Johannesburg summit, where the country was scheduled to receive the G20 presidency from South Africa. The handover, originally planned for the opening day, did not occur.
Presidency Handover Controversy
According to Anadolu, South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola explained that the US wanted the handover conducted through its charge d’affaires at the embassy in Pretoria.
Lamola said South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) sought to separate the handover from the substantive discussions taking place with attending heads of state and senior officials.
“The handover must happen at the head of state level, or at least a minister who “is properly designated by the president of the United States of America,” Lamola said.
“So now that they have assigned a charge, we’ve said DIRCO has equivalent officials of the charge, hence … we will do the handover… at DIRCO offices anytime from Monday.”
Lamola stressed that the arrangement would not harm relations, noting, “We will accord them the equivalent respect by assuring that the person … who does the handover is an appropriate, equal, equivalent of the charge.”
”The only thing we said is that our president cannot hand over to a charge (d'affaires) in the leaders’ summit attended by so many heads of state.”
The dispute follows Trump’s announcement that the US would not send officials to Johannesburg, citing alleged human rights violations against white Afrikaners in South Africa. President Ramaphosa had hinted at a possible shift in the US stance on Thursday, but the White House quickly dismissed the suggestion.
The Johannesburg summit opened without US representation. The G20, established in 1999, comprises 19 countries and two regional organizations: the European Union and the African Union.
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