South Africa expects United States to strike back

South Africa expects to be notified by the US that it will be excluded from participating in Group of 20 meetings during its presidency, according to people familiar with the matter, marking a further deterioration in ties between the two countries.

Officials in Pretoria familiar with the discussions, who asked not to be identified as the information is private, said they believe an announcement is imminent.

Relations between the two nations have worsened in recent months, culminating in the US boycott of South Africa’s hosting of the G-20 leaders’ summit over the weekend — the first held on African soil.

Days before the gathering, Washington sent a diplomatic note warning Pretoria against adopting a leaders’ declaration, but South Africa went ahead and approved the document shortly after the meeting began.

The US openly opposed South Africa’s G-20 presidency and its agenda centered on solidarity, equality, and sustainability — key themes in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s drive for a more inclusive global order.

It also falsely accused it of committing genocide against white Afrikaners and seizing land without compensation.

South African government spokespeople were not immediately available for comment by phone. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rumors of the country’s possible exclusion from G-20 meetings began circulating last week ahead of the leaders’ summit, though it remains unclear whether the US can make such a decision unilaterally.

The most likely course of action would be for Washington to withhold visas for South African officials expected to attend the dozens of meetings scheduled over the next year.

The people said the US is also expected to push for South Africa’s removal from the G-20 and may seek to install a new member from Central Europe more closely aligned with the Trump administration.

Any change in membership would require consensus among G-20 nations, as was the case ahead of the 2023 summit in India, when the African Union was admitted as a full member.

Pretoria also rejected a US request for Marc Dillard, the chargé d’affaires in South Africa, to attend the leaders’ summit and receive the ceremonial G-20 handover, saying Ramaphosa would not engage with a lower-ranking official.

Instead, the handover took place quietly between diplomats at South Africa’s foreign ministry in Pretoria on Tuesday.