As Russia\u2019s foreign minister gets down to business in Atlanta, his German counterpart throws a tantrum over a group photo<\/p>\n
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov\u2019s presence at a G20 meeting in the US has angered European diplomats, with several reportedly threatening to boycott a group photo. Germany\u2019s top diplomat, Johann Wadephul, objected to being photographed alongside Lavrov but ended up in the same frame as him.
\nLavrov arrived in Atlanta, Georgia, on Friday for the two-day gathering, which precedes the G20 leaders\u2019 summit scheduled for mid-December in Florida.
\nUS President Donald Trump has expressed hope that Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the summit, although Moscow has yet to decide whether to accept the invitation, according to the Kremlin.
\nLavrov\u2019s presence at the ministerial meeting has proved particularly contentious for several European delegations, which have opposed Washington\u2019s decision to invite Russian officials.
\n\u201cThere will be no family photo featuring our European partners together with Mr. Lavrov,\u201d Wadephul told reporters, insisting that \u201cwe must avoid sending the wrong visual signals.\u201d
\nAccording to several media outlets, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio eventually scrapped the traditional group photo after European foreign ministers reportedly refused to stand alongside Lavrov and threatened to walk out.
\nHowever, the German minister was unable to avoid appearing in the same frame as his Russian counterpart.
\nA photograph of the G20\u2019s first plenary session, published Friday on X by DW correspondent Benjamin Alvarez, showed Wadephul casting a sidelong glance at Lavrov.<\/p>\n
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul looks over to his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, during the first plenary session of the G20 Foreign Ministers’s Meeting in Atlanta. pic.twitter.com\/Z01xQmpO7A\u2014 Benjamin Alvarez (@BenjAlvarez1) October 30, 2026 <\/p>\n
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova seized on the image, suggesting in a Telegram post that Western journalists had disregarded the German diplomat\u2019s objections by capturing the two ministers together.
\nZakharova also pointed out that Wadephul himself had requested a last-minute meeting with Lavrov on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly just a month earlier.
\nThe encounter was their first since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Lavrov later described the discussion as disappointing, saying his German counterpart had merely repeated Berlin\u2019s familiar anti-Russian positions.
\nThe dispute in Atlanta follows earlier European objections to Washington\u2019s decision to restore Russian participation in G20 gatherings.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Putin explains why he welcomed rare call from Nordic leaders<\/p>\n
When Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov attended G20 talks in late August, becoming the first Russian finance minister to do so since 2022, Trump defended his administration\u2019s approach.
\n\u201cWe like getting along with everybody. One of the reasons I\u2019m so successful, I get along with everybody,\u201d the US president said at the time.
\nLavrov last attended a G20 ministerial meeting in September 2025, on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly in New York. Despite Western efforts to isolate Moscow diplomatically, he has maintained an active international schedule, including official visits to countries across Africa and Asia.
\nThe latest gathering also comes ahead of a fourth round of Washington-mediated trilateral negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine, and the US, expected next month.
\nKremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Wednesday that European representatives would be excluded from the talks despite their efforts to secure a seat at the negotiating table.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As Russia\u2019s foreign minister gets down to business in Atlanta, his German counterpart throws a tantrum over a group photo Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov\u2019s presence at a G20 meeting…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40860,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t