Foreign ministers of the Group of Twenty (G20) countries began their meeting in Atlanta without the traditional joint photo, following protests from European diplomats who opposed being photographed with the Russian representative.
“Elchi” reports that Reuters published this information.
The joint photo was not included in the meeting agenda published by the US Department of State. The ministers, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, immediately began the first session.
“Under no circumstances will there be a joint photo of European partners and Mr. Lavrov, because… there can be no talk of normal relations with Russia,” said German Foreign Minister Johann Wredeful.
Earlier, European officials had considered holding two separate photo sessions: one with Lavrov and one without.