• Pretoria says its G20 membership is unconditional as a founding member

• Washington disputes how the 2025 rotating presidency was handed over

• Diplomatic strains deepen as South Africa pushes ahead with a joint declaration

South Africa has pushed back against a threat from the United States to exclude it from the 2026 G20 Summit. Responding on 30 November, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the country is a founding member of the group and will continue to take part “as a full, active and constructive member.”

Washington’s warning followed the closing of the 2025 summit, held on 22–23 November in Johannesburg. The United States boycotted the meeting and later accused Pretoria of refusing to hand over the rotating G20 presidency to a senior U.S. representative present at the ceremony.

Address to the nation #G20SouthAfrica ?? https://t.co/jxM1kHaAvM

— Cyril Ramaphosa ?? (@CyrilRamaphosa) November 30, 2025

South African officials rejected the charge. They said the handover took place at the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation, where the presidency was formally passed to a representative from the U.S. embassy. The dispute has added to what has become a tense diplomatic climate between the two countries.

The United States did not attend the G20 in South Africa, because the South African Government refuses to acknowledge or address the horrific Human Right Abuses endured by Afrikaners, and other descendants of Dutch, French, and German settlers. To put it more bluntly, they are…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 28, 2025

During the summit, Ramaphosa maintained his position despite pressure from the Trump administration. He approved a joint declaration calling for reforms to global debt systems, increased climate finance, and renewed support for multilateral cooperation, even though the United States opposed adopting the text in its absence.

The exchange comes after an earlier dispute this year, when South Africa dismissed U.S. accusations of “persecution” and land seizures involving the country’s white minority. While awaiting Washington’s next move, Ramaphosa emphasized the broader relationship between the two nations, saying that “South Africa remains a firm and unwavering friend of the American people.”

Espoir Olodo