JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- South Africa said Thursday that it will temporarily step back from the Group of 20 (G20) activities, after the United States, the new rotating presidency, confirmed it would not invite Pretoria to participate.
"For now, we will take a commercial break until we resume normal programming," Vincent Magwenya, spokesperson for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, wrote on social media X.
"About this time next year, the UK will be taking over the G20 Presidency. We will be able to engage meaningfully and substantively over what really matters to the rest of the world," he noted.
The remarks came after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday said that Washington "will not be extending an invitation to the South African government to participate in the G20" under its presidency.
Relations between South Africa and the United States have hit a low this year, as U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly accused South Africa of a so-called "white genocide," a claim Pretoria has firmly rejected. ■