Uncomfortable Next to Russia... Will the G20 Summit Have No Group Photos?

Sergey Lavrov, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Foreign media reports suggest that there will likely be no group photo session at this year’s G20 summit. This is because the heads of state from various countries are showing discomfort with Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Minister, who is attending in place of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

At the annual G20 summit, it has been a tradition for attending leaders to take a group photo together. Although there are slight variations depending on the host country, usually the front row is occupied by presidents and heads of state. The next row is for prime ministers and other government leaders, and the last row is for heads of international organizations. Within each row, leaders with longer terms in office stand closer to the center.

The photo session is known to be attended voluntarily by the leaders. At last year’s G20 summit held in Rome, Italy, the group photo was taken, but several leaders did not participate due to COVID-19 and other reasons.

This year’s G20 summit will be held from the 15th to the 16th in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia. However, it is anticipated that the group photo session will not take place.

Recently, the UK’s Guardian reported that the leaders do not want to stand shoulder to shoulder with Russia. Although President Putin is not attending this meeting, they are also displeased with the presence of Foreign Minister Lavrov attending in his place.

Minister Lavrov has been a figure who has justified Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the international stage. When the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting was held in Bali last July, he reacted strongly against criticism regarding the global food crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, claiming that Russia was not responsible, and abruptly left the meeting. At that time, foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) attending the meeting refused to sit with Minister Lavrov and did not attend the welcome dinner.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.