G20 foreign ministers skip traditional group photo after European delegations refuse to stand alongside Lavrov

From the Newshound archive · first published 30 October 2026.

The traditional group photograph at the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta was cancelled after roughly a third of attendees — among them European nations, Australia and Canada — refused outright to stand alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul was unambiguous with reporters: "In no case will there be a family photo with European partners and Mr Lavrov together — there is no normalcy with Russia." Before the photo-op was pulled, European officials had suggested holding two separate photos as a way through the impasse, but the dispute had become too great a distraction to resolve.

Ukraine was absent from the G20 meeting entirely, with US officials pointing to its non-member status as the reason it was not invited.

Trump has waived sanctions against the Kremlin and called for President Zelensky to be removed from his post as part of his push toward a settlement.

Ed Miliband's team said the Foreign Secretary attended "focused on the global challenges" — and would not pose with Lavrov under any circumstances.