Diplomatic tensions are high ahead of next week’s G20 summit in South Africa. The planned Trump G20 boycott has forced a dramatic response. President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed Friday he will symbolically hand the G20 presidency to an “empty chair.”
This move acknowledges the confirmed absence of U.S. leadership at the November 22-23 gathering.
Allegations Spark Trump G20 Boycott
The U.S. absence follows President Donald Trump’s declaration last week. He stated no U.S. official would attend the summit. Trump cited alleged “human rights abuses” in the host nation as the reason.
These allegations center on widely disproven claims. Trump asserts that white South Africans, specifically Afrikaners, are being “slaughtered.” He also claimed their land is being illegally seized. Furthermore, he stated U.S. refugee admissions this year would prioritize this white minority.
South Africa’s Defiant Response
South African officials have repeatedly expressed exasperation over these claims of ethnic cleansing. They firmly deny that any citizen in the Black-majority country faces discrimination based on their race.
Ramaphosa addressed the diplomatic slight directly while speaking in Soweto.
“I have said in the past, I don’t want to hand over to an empty chair,” Ramaphosa noted. “But the empty chair will be there, (I will) probably symbolically hand over to that empty chair and then talk to President Trump.”
Pragmatism Over Politics
Despite the clear political controversy, Ramaphosa’s main objective is economic stability. He emphasized his goal is to maintain strong trade ties with the U.S. The U.S. remains one of South Africa’s largest trading partners.
“We export products to that country… They end up in the hands of consumers in the United States,” he argued.
The South African leader acknowledged pressure to retaliate. However, he maintained a pragmatic stance. He concluded that a country must sometimes engage with “unfriendly” parties to advance its own national interests.
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