30.10.2026 22:11
Ahead of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Atlanta, USA, the family photo session was removed from the program after European ministers did not want to appear in the same frame as Sergey Lavrov. German Foreign Minister Wadephul said he would not take a photo with Lavrov.
Before the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting held in the US, after European ministers did not want to appear in the same frame as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the traditional family photo session was removed from the program.
THEY DID NOT WANT TO TAKE A PHOTO WITH LAVROV
Before the G20 Foreign Ministers Summit held in Atlanta, Georgia, US, a "family photo" crisis occurred due to the participation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the event. After European representatives did not want to appear in the same frame as Lavrov because of the ongoing war in Ukraine, the summit's traditional group photo session was removed from the program.
"NORMALIZATION WITH RUSSIA IS OUT OF THE QUESTION"
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, in a statement to members of the press before the meeting, said, "A family photo in which Mr. Lavrov would appear together with European partners will definitely not be taken. Normalization with Russia is out of the question."
An official from the US State Department stated that the Washington administration did not want the photo session to turn into a spectacle or a distraction, and reported that the session had been removed from the official program. An unnamed Western diplomat, however, claimed that about one third of participants, including Australia and Canada, opposed appearing in the same photo frame as Lavrov.
European officials raised the possibility that, in order to overcome the crisis, two separate photo sessions could be held: one in which Lavrov would appear and, afterward, one in which the Russian minister would not participate.