G20 foreign ministers meeting excludes 'family photo'

JOHANNESBURG

South Africa's officiated first G20 foreign ministers meeting in Johannesburg, which concluded on Friday, did not include a family photo.

The ministers did not take a collective family photo during the two-day gathering at the National Recreation Centre (NASREC) in Johannesburg.

Zane Dangor, director-general of South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation, said in a statement that the absence of a family photo was due to "time constraints."

“This isn’t the first time a family photo has been omitted… it also did not occur at the meeting in Brazil. We had arranged a location for the photo, but the meetings extended late into the evening. When time ran out, it created a sense of urgency, and as a result, we did not take the family photo,” he said.

Reports from South African media suggest that some foreign ministers from countries, including the UK, France, and Germany, declined to participate in the photo due to their reluctance to be photographed with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Earlier, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy voiced doubt about Russia's desire for peace in Ukraine after Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov's remarks at the G20 meeting. Following Lavrov's address, Lammy said, "I don’t see an appetite to really get to that peace," and noted that Lavrov left the room when it was his turn to speak.

The two-day meeting was seen as significant after historic bilateral negotiations between the US and Russia to end the war in Ukraine.