G20 envoys agree draft leaders' declaration without US at summit, sources say

G20 envoys have agreed on a draft leaders’ declaration ahead of this weekend’s summit in Johannesburg without U.S. input, four sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated that it will boycott the summit over disagreements with the host nation, South Africa.

While fearing that a loss of participation from its most powerful member would scupper a declaration at the G20, some analysts still saw an opportunity for the South African hosts, determined to set an agenda for global leaders in the face of Trump’s hostility to multilateral diplomacy.

None of the sources divulged details of the declaration’s contents.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday that South Africa was in discussions with the United States over its possible participation in the summit after all, although the White House later denied this.

Trump rejected the host nation’s agenda for the November 22-23 summit of promoting solidarity and helping developing nations adapt to worse weather disasters, transition to clean energy and cut their excessive debt costs.

White House says US not taking part in G20 talks in S.Africa

The United States is not taking part in this weekend’s G20 summit in Johannesburg, the White House said Thursday, denying comments from South Africa’s president who had said Washington wanted to participate.

“The United States is not participating in official talks at the G20 in South Africa,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

“I saw the South African president running his mouth a little bit against the United States and the president of the United States earlier today, and that language is not appreciated by the president or his team,” she said.

United States has had a “change of mind” about boycotting the G20 summit in Johannesburg this weekend and wanted to take part in some form, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Thursday.