December 5, 2025 | 09:11 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Tensions between the United States and South Africa have escalated following Washington's official takeover of the G20 presidency earlier this month. This friction follows the U.S. decision to almost entirely boycott Pretoria's leadership, including the G20 summit held in November.
According to a report by France 24 on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio strongly criticized South Africa's organization of the G20. Rubio reiterated President Donald Trump's earlier statement that South Africa would not be invited to the entire series of G20 events next year, including the summit scheduled to be held in Miami.
South Africa's Response
Responding to the U.S. announcement, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters, "We are yet to receive it in writing and we will deal with that when it comes."
Ramaphosa emphasized that South Africa remains a full, contributing member of the G20 and maintained that its recent presidency had been widely deemed successful by the international community.
"All we want, really, as South Africa is to be treated as an equal, sovereign country," Ramaphosa added. "A country that respects other countries, a country that fosters the success and prosperity of other countries."
The previous Trump administration had already taken aggressive steps against Pretoria, including expelling the South African ambassador in March and imposing a 30 percent trade tariff.
Trump's Accusations and Boycott
The G20 comprises the world's 19 largest economies plus the European Union and the African Union, collectively contributing 85 percent of the global GDP and representing two-thirds of the world's population.
As reported by Al Jazeera, President Trump opted not to attend the G20 summit in Johannesburg last November, which was the first time the summit had been hosted in Africa.
In a social media post earlier this month, Trump called the summit's organization a "total disgrace." He further accused the South African government of allowing the massacring of white Afrikaner communities, a white ethnic group descended from Dutch, French, and German settlers in South Africa.
"Afrikaners are being killed and slaughtered, and their land and farms are being illegally confiscated," Trump wrote.
The South African government has firmly denied these allegations, stating there is no evidence to support such claims.
Trump reiterated his stance last Wednesday through a social media post, confirming that South Africa will not be invited to the G20 summit next year, which will be hosted by the United States.
Read: Trump to Announce Second Phase of Gaza Peace Plan Before Christmas
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