Washington said it would not take part in the November 22-23 summit because it objected to the priorities set by South Africa for the meeting, which holds the G20’s rotating presidency this year.”
We have received notice from the United States, a notice which we are still in discussions with them over, about a change of mind about participating in one shape, form, or other in the summit,” Ramaphosa told reporters.
“This comes at the late hour before the summit begins. And so therefore, we do need to engage in those types of discussions to see how practical it is and what it finally really means,” he said.
South Africa saw the development as “a positive sign,” the president said.
“All countries are here, and the United States, the biggest economy in the world, needs to be here,” he said. “So it’s pleasing to hear that there is a change of approach, and so we are still discussing how that will manifest.”
Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump has escalated his rhetoric against South Africa, reviving the narratives of “white genocide” targeting Afrikaner farmers.
In a May 21 Oval Office meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa, Trump confronted him with a montage of videos—including clips of opposition leader Julius Malema chanting “Kill the Boer” and misleading images of roadside crosses falsely labeled as “burial sites” for murdered farmers.
Trump claimed, “Death. Death. Horrible death,” insisting a systematic slaughter was underway, and even questioned attending South Africa’s G20 summit later that year.
These assertions echo Trump’s 2018 tweet, prompted by Fox News, urging Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to investigate “farm seizures and expropriations and the large-scale killing of farmers.”
Fact-checkers swiftly dismantled the claims then and now. South Africa’s farm murders—averaging 40-50 annually, per AfriForum data—represent under 1% of the nation’s 27,000+ yearly homicides, driven by rampant crime, not racial targeting.
A February 2025 Western Cape High Court ruling called “white genocide”, “clearly imagined and not real.”
Trump’s barbs extend beyond words. In April, the U.S. granted refugee status to 59 white Afrikaners, citing persecution—despite State Department reports attributing farm attacks to general crime.
Trump slashed aid to South Africa, boycotted the G20 summit (set for November 22-23 in Johannesburg), and threatened trade penalties over land reform laws, which aim to redress apartheid-era dispossessions without forced expropriations.
Ramaphosa’s delegation pushed back, with Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen urging facts: “There is no mass expropriation… no genocide.”
Critics, including South African netizens on X, decry the rhetoric as racist fearmongering, amplified by far-right groups and figures like Elon Musk.
Earlier, the US embassy had confirmed that it would not attend the summit, saying in a note to South Africa that its G20 priorities “run counter to the US policy views and we cannot support consensus on any documents negotiated under your presidency.”
It said the United States “opposes issuance of any G20 summit outcome document under the premise of a consensus G20 position, without U.S. agreement.”
What could be the reason for the change in the heart needs to be analyzed!
By ET Online Desk with AFP Inputs
