Rubio Cancels G20 Family Photo After Europeans, UK and Australia Refuse to Pose With Lavrov

The G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta opened Friday, Oct. 30, without the customary family photo. Secretary of State Marco Rubio killed it after a sizable group of delegations made clear they would not appear beside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The decision came Thursday, according to two U.S. officials who spoke anonymously to the Associated Press. They said Rubio concluded the fight over the picture would become a distraction.

A U.S. official put it this way: "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 and shared priorities."

Who refused

Two Western officials told CNN that more than a third of attending officials had threatened to walk out of a photo with Lavrov. CNN also reported, citing three sources, that Washington explored shooting two photos, one with Lavrov and one without, before Rubio dropped the idea.

Germany's foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, had been explicit beforehand: "In no case will there be a family photo with European partners and Mr Lavrov together because … there is no normality with Russia."

UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said Britain does not engage with the Russians that way and has not for years.

Australia's Penny Wong went further in the opening session. She condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine as brutal and unjustified, to Lavrov's face, and said the war had hit global markets and worsened food insecurity. A Wong spokesperson said Australia backed the cancellation.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Lavrov "put forward a lot of lies, a lot of false narratives that Europeans were able to push back on."

Lavrov's response

Lavrov did not pretend to be wounded. At a press conference Friday, he dismissed the dispute as "family photo diplomacy."

"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 said. He also criticized the Europeans' boycott as arrogant and praised the Trump administration's willingness to engage with Moscow.

He said he met briefly with Rubio on the sidelines and that they "had a fairly good conversation."

The Europeans see it differently. The UK's stated position, relayed by a British official, is a longstanding policy against direct bilateral engagement with Russian ministers since the invasion, and Britain said it is not about to change it.

A meeting with little room for agreement

The photo is a symptom of deeper disagreements.

Poland's foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, attending as a guest for the first time, said Friday: "We have wars going on and we have participants in those wars around the table, so it's very difficult to agree a common line."

Diplomats who attended the opening session described it as cordial, according to the Guardian, but said Russia's position on Ukraine has not moved. Russia also opposes Poland's participation in the G20. Washington did not invite South Africa, a G20 member, over objections from others.

Because of those splits, participants expect no joint communique. The two days of talks are expected to end today, Saturday, with a chair summary drafted by the United States.

European officials also want pressure on Moscow for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, a key agricultural export route. Wadephul said he would again call on Russia to accept Ukraine's offer of a ceasefire starting there.

Wars in the background

Rubio told the opening plenary the world is at "a critical moment," facing "a series of interconnected economic and geopolitical crises." He pointed to strains on energy and food supplies, supply chains and freedom of navigation.

Energy prices have jumped since the U.S. and Israel struck Iran in February and Tehran responded by choking off the Strait of Hormuz, AFP reported. U.S. officials told the AP that freedom of navigation in Hormuz, the Red Sea, the Black Sea and the South China Sea is their top priority for the meeting.

The timing adds pressure. The AP has reported that U.S. officials have told several Middle East countries to prepare for possible renewed strikes on Iran after Tuesday's midterm elections, and that Iran could retaliate against them. Rubio met his Saudi and Turkish counterparts in Atlanta.

The AP also reported that Trump has waived fresh sanctions on Moscow and temporarily limited logistical and intelligence assistance to Ukraine, which has fed European unease about Russia's invitation. Ukraine was not invited to the Atlanta meeting.

What comes next

China sent a deputy foreign minister rather than its top diplomat, according to U.S. officials. Most other members sent their foreign ministers.

The next test is the G20 leaders' summit at Trump's Doral resort in Miami, scheduled for Dec. 14-16. It is unclear whether Vladimir Putin will accept Trump's invitation. If he does, the question the Atlanta photo dodged will land on a much bigger stage: who is willing to stand next to the Russian delegation, and who is not.

The summit also comes after Tuesday's vote and any decision on new action against Iran.