JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — The White House hit out Thursday at South Africa’s leader for “running his mouth” over the United States’ boycott of this weekend’s Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg in another diplomatic rift between the U.S. and a country that has been especially targeted for criticism by President Donald Trump. South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters in Johannesburg that the U.S.
had indicated it was changing its mind over its boycott of the G20 leaders summit at the “11th hour” and wanted to take part. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that was not true and had sharp words for Ramaphosa in response. “I saw the South African president running his mouth a little bit against the United States and the president of the United States earlier today, and that language is not appreciated by the president or his team,” Leavitt said at the White House.
She said the U.S. was sending a diplomatic official to the summit to simply recognise that the U.S. will take over the rotating presidency of the bloc and host near year’s G20 summit.
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A representative from the U.S. Embassy in South Africa will attend the formal handover ceremony at the end of the two-day summit that opens on Saturday, but Washington still won’t take part in any talks, a White House official said. The official wasn’t authorised to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Trump announced this month that no U.S. government official would attend the meeting of world leaders from rich and developing countries in South Africa’s biggest city. Trump cited his claims that South Africa is violently persecuting the country’s white Afrikaner minority farmers as the reason for the U.S.
A formal handover ceremony is traditional at the end of each G20 summit and Ramaphosa previously expressed disappointment that the U.S. boycott would mean that he hands over to an “empty chair” at the end of the summit. On Thursday, the South African president said that he welcomed U.S.
participation at Africa’s first G20 summit “in one shape or form or another” and viewed the late communication as a “pleasing” change of approach from the world’s biggest economy. “The United States is a member of the G20, they are an original member of the G20, so they have the right to be here,” Ramaphosa said. “And all we are seeking to do is looking at the practicalities … for them to participate.” Ramaphosa had also addressed the U.S.
boycott — which threatens to undermine the summit — earlier Thursday, when he said that the G20 meeting would issue a joint declaration, despite pressure from Washington not to issue one. A South African G20 official said earlier this week that the U.S. had sent diplomatic communication to South Africa advising that there should be no declaration adopted at the summit, because the U.S.
wasn’t there and therefore there would be no consensus. Instead, the U.S. wants a toned-down statement from South Africa only to cap the summit, which is a culmination of more than 120 meetings that Africa’s most advanced economy has hosted since it took over the G20’s rotating presidency for this year.
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