US Blocking of South Africa's Participation in G20 Will Negatively Affect Consensus — Berdyev

 The US blocking of South Africa's participation in the G20 will negatively affect the achievement of consensus at the organization's summit, which will take place in December in Miami without the African country's participation, Russia's Ambassador-at-Large Marat Berdyev stated in an interview with TASS.

According to Berdyev, the United States is not striving for consensus among member states.

"In a number of cases, [the US] does not hide that it does not count on consensus and would be satisfied with documents from like-minded countries. This contradicts the spirit and letter of the G20 process. The factor you mentioned — the blocking of South Africa — will also have an impact. Under these circumstances, reaching agreements remains quite uncertain," the ambassador-at-large emphasized.

Berdyev also expressed hope that G20 delegations would persistently defend both their own interests and the principles of the G20's work, including collegial decision-making and the integrity of the group's composition.

In April, South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana stated that the country would not participate in G20 activities throughout 2026 due to a lack of accreditation from the United States.

In November 2025, US President Donald Trump stated that South Africa would not receive an invitation to the G20 summit in Miami in 2026 because "South Africa refused to hand over the group's presidency" at the Johannesburg summit on November 22-23.