G20 Foreign Ministers Meet in Atlanta; Group Photo Cancelled Over Russia's Lavrov
Photo: The Guardian USUS Secretary of State Marco Rubio cancelled the traditional group photograph at the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta on Friday, October 30, 2026, after about one-third of attending countries said they would not appear beside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. European officials, the UK and Australia had said they would boycott or walk out of the photo. Rubio still opened the talks with an appeal for unity, saying the world faced interconnected economic and geopolitical crises.
Germany's foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, said there would be no photo with European partners and Lavrov together because there was no normality with Russia. UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said Britain had not engaged with Russians that way for years. Lavrov is the highest-profile Russian official to visit the US since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The two days of talks were due to end Saturday without agreement on several key security issues, so no joint communique will be issued. Rubio is to release a chairman's statement summarizing the discussions, diplomats said. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, attending for the first time as a guest, said agreement was hard with participants in wars at the table. On the sidelines, Rubio signed an Arctic cooperation deal with Japan and South Korea and confirmed US participation in Riyadh's 2030 World Expo.
Left-leaning outlets lead with the cancelled photo. The Guardian US quotes Rubio, Wadephul and Miliband. The New Republic frames Lavrov's arrival as enraging allies and lawmakers, citing Republican Rep. Don Bacon and a letter from Republican and Democratic Senate Foreign Relations members. Right-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while left-leaning and alternative outlets had. Alternative outlets differ in emphasis: France 24 and The Hindu focus on the absence of consensus, the chairman's statement, Sikorski's remarks and sideline deals, with less on US political reaction.
How the sides differ Left sources stress the photo cancellation and bipartisan US anger at Lavrov's visit; alternative sources stress the lack of consensus and sideline deals; right sources had not covered it.
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- The New RepublicRussia’s Lavrov Lands in U.S. for G20 Meeting—Enraging Everyone
The Guardian US leads with the cancelled photo and quotes Rubio, Wadephul and Miliband; The New Republic stresses backlash from allies and Republican and Democratic lawmakers over Lavrov's visit.
France 24 and The Hindu focus on the meeting ending without consensus or a joint communique, featuring Sikorski, Rubio's sideline agreements and the photo dispute.