US Cancels G20 Ministers' Group Photo After Europeans Refuse to Pose With Russia's Lavrov

The United States scrapped the traditional G20 "family photo" at the opening of the foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta on Friday after European diplomats refused to be pictured with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is hosting the two-day event. A US official said the photo was dropped once it became clear some delegations would not join. A British official said the UK has a longstanding policy against direct bilateral engagement with Russian ministers since the invasion of Ukraine. Lavrov is the highest-profile Russian official to visit the US since the 2022 invasion. Representative Don Bacon said Russian leaders should not be welcomed in such forums, and thirteen Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee signed a joint letter last month condemning the visit. Ukraine, which is not a G20 member, was not invited, though it has attended similar meetings in recent years.

Newsmax, on the right, gives the shortest account. Its headline and opening say the US scrapped the photo over Lavrov's presence because several Europeans objected, with no named critics or lawmaker quotes in the excerpt. On the left, CNN stresses that many representatives were expected to walk out, while The New Republic frames the visit as "enraging everyone" and says Rubio was forced to cancel. It features Bacon's quote and the Senate letter, including Republican signers. Both sides agree on the core facts: the photo was cancelled because of objections to Lavrov. The difference is that Newsmax centers the US decision and European objections, while The New Republic adds domestic criticism. BBC News adds distinct details: Ukraine's exclusion, strained Zelensky-Trump relations over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil sites, and the UK official's quote. The Hill's headline says Lavrov "crashes" the gathering.