Rubio cancels G20 ministers' group photo after UK, Australia refuse to pose with Russia

Secretary of State Marco Rubio canceled the traditional group photo at the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta on Friday. Several countries, including Australia and the United Kingdom, had refused to stand beside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The G20 is a group of major world economies. ¹²

About one-third of the countries at the talks said they would not appear beside any Russian representative, The Guardian reported. Several European officials, the UK and Australia let it be known they would boycott or walk out of the photo. ¹

What allies said

Germany's foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, warned before the session that there would be no photo with European partners and Lavrov together because "there is no normality with Russia." ¹

UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said much the same. ¹

From Channel GOPPresident cozying with China and Russia, insulting alliesAndy Beshear · 151 plays · captioned, with the source named

We do not engage in that way with the Russians and have not for a number of years

Australia's foreign minister, Penny Wong, condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine as brutal and unjustified while Lavrov was in the room. A spokesperson said Australia supported the U.S. decision to cancel the photo. ¹

Rubio still opened the meeting with a call for unity. ¹

We are in a critical moment

No joint statement expected

Diplomats who attended the opening session called it cordial. They said Russia's position on Ukraine is unyielding, as is its opposition to Poland joining the G20. ¹

The Trump administration's decision not to invite South Africa, a founding G20 member, also divided the group. Participants said these splits will probably prevent a joint communique, the usual closing statement, when the meetings end Saturday. ¹ The Korea Times reported that the group will rely on a chairman's statement that Rubio will release at the conclusion. ²

Ukraine was not invited. U.S. officials said that was a deliberate choice to include only formal members of the group. ¹

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, attending as a guest for the first time, said he was not surprised. He said, "We have wars going on, and we have participants in those wars around the table." ²

What happens next

Participants said all sides agreed to try to work past their differences. They want to make next month's G20 leaders' summit a success. President Donald Trump will host it in Florida. ¹

The Guardian called the Atlanta split further evidence of a rupture caused by the Trump administration's attempt to bring Russia and President Vladimir Putin back into the international community. Putin's war against Ukraine is still going on. ¹

That matters because a group photo is a small thing, but it is a public signal. When close allies say they will not stand with a government that Washington is courting, the U.S. is hosting a meeting where a third of the guests would rather not be seen with another guest. The pattern is a White House that is more at odds with its traditional partners on Russia.

The Record

1. Oct 30, 2026Rubio opens the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta and cancels the traditional group photo after allies threaten a boycott ¹²
2. Oct 31, 2026The two-day meeting is due to end without a joint communique, diplomats say ¹²

Sources

1. The Guardian, “US cancels G20 'family photo' after Australia, UK and others refuse to appear with Russia” (2026-10-31). theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/31/us-cancels-g20-family-phot
2. The Korea Times, “G20 foreign ministers to end Atlanta meeting without consensus on key issues” (2026-10-31). koreatimes.co.kr/world/20261031/g20-foreign-ministers-to-end

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