European diplomats have refused to pose for an official photo with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the US G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting, prompting American organisers to cancel the planned photograph.

Two officials confirmed to the BBC the annulment of the so-called family photo, which was scheduled for Friday morning and usually includes representatives of all participating countries.

The meeting, where top diplomats of the largest economies in the world gather, is being held in Atlanta and organised by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Ukraine is not a member of the G20, but in recent years it was invited to similar meetings. However, she has not been invited to this meeting.

Relations between Ukraine and the US have been particularly tense this month, following a diplomatic clash between Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump, over Kiev’s attacks on oil infrastructure within Russia.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is also attending the meeting. A diplomatic source confirmed that Britain was among the countries that refused to participate in the official photograph.

A British official said his country has a long-standing policy not to develop direct bilateral contacts with Russian ministers since the invasion of Ukraine and that it has no intention of changing that stance, the BBC reports.

Source Layer: RTKLive