G20 Scraps Family Photo as Allies Refuse to Pose With Lavrov

The G20 foreign ministers meeting opened in Atlanta on Friday without its traditional group photograph. The United States, which is hosting the two-day meeting, dropped the picture after a number of delegations said they would not pose alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

More than a third of the attending officials had threatened to walk out of a picture with Lavrov, two Western officials told CNN. The United States had explored taking two photographs, one with Lavrov and one without, according to three sources. In the end, Secretary of State Marco Rubio decided to scrap the photograph altogether, two of the sources said.

A U.S. official said Rubio made the call because the dispute around the photograph would become a distraction and a spectacle that would overshadow the meeting. "The photo was canceled after it became clear that some of the delegations were unwilling to participate in a joint photo," another U.S. official said. "Rather than allow a ceremonial photo opportunity to become a diplomatic distraction, the United States decided to forgo the photo and keep the focus on the substantive discussions and shared priorities of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting."

Where the objecting countries stood

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told reporters on Friday morning that European partners would not take a joint photograph with Lavrov. "In no case will there be a family photo with European partners and Mr. Lavrov together because ... there is no normalcy with Russia," he said, according to Reuters.

Britain took the same position. A British official said the United Kingdom has a standing policy of no direct bilateral contact with Russian ministers since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, speaking at the opening session, addressed Lavrov directly about the war, according to remarks provided by the British embassy. "Let me say this directly to the Russian foreign minister - we all know who the aggressor in this war is," he said. He pointed to a strike on the railway station in Dnipro the day before, which he said killed 15 people, and said Russia started the war four and a half years ago with its full-scale invasion.

Poland's foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, backed the decision to drop the photograph. At a press conference on Friday, he said agreement would be hard to reach with participants in wars sitting around the same table. "We have wars going on and we have participants in those wars around the table, so it's very difficult to agree a common line," he said.

Lavrov's response

Lavrov dismissed the dispute at a press conference in Atlanta later on Friday. "If what matters most to them is how they look in the family photo and who is standing next to them, well, that says it all," he said, calling it "family photo diplomacy." He also said he had met briefly with Rubio at the meeting and that they "had a fairly good conversation."

The meeting itself went ahead as planned. In welcome remarks, Rubio called the moment critical, pointing to strains on energy and food supplies, supply chains, trade, and freedom of navigation. The ministerial is expected to end with a statement from the chair rather than a joint statement, sources told CNN, a sign that the 20 countries were not expected to reach consensus on key details.

The dispute over the photograph reflects a wider divide. European governments back Ukraine and have objected to recent U.S. decisions on Russia, including a deal to buy diesel and the waiving of some sanctions, Reuters reported. Wadephul sought to play down the split on Friday morning, calling Rubio "a reliable partner" and saying the United States and Europe are "reading from the same paper" on ending the war, while adding that the tone in Europe is different because it is closer to the conflict.