Overview
- South African officials said leaders adopted a declaration at the start of the Johannesburg summit despite U.S. opposition, a break from the forum’s usual end-of-summit practice.
- Argentina formally declined to endorse the text, citing a breach of the G20’s consensus rule and objecting to what it called a partial treatment of the Middle East conflict.
- Washington had notified Pretoria in writing that it would not back any consensus communiqué under South Africa’s presidency and stayed out of the talks after President Donald Trump ordered a boycott.
- The White House said only a low‑profile representative would attend the closing handover, prompting Pretoria to refuse a ceremonial transfer to a chargé d’affaires and to signal no handover would occur at the venue.
- The dispute clouds the first G20 hosted in Africa and comes before the United States assumes the 2026 presidency in Florida, as several top leaders, including those of China and Russia, skipped the meeting.