G20 'Family Photo' Scrapped as European Diplomats Refuse to Pose With Russia's Lavrov

The picture that was supposed to be taken on Friday in Atlanta never was. At the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, the traditional "family photo," which normally gathers representatives of every attending nation, was cancelled after European diplomats declined to stand alongside Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov. Two officials confirmed the cancellation to the BBC.

The American hosts made the call. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is presiding over the meeting, and a US official said the photo was dropped once it became clear that some delegations would not take part in a joint image. In the official's words, the US chose not to let a ceremonial photo opportunity turn into a diplomatic distraction, and wanted to keep attention on the substantive discussions.

Inside the meeting, the UK's Foreign Secretary, Ed Miliband, spoke more bluntly. Addressing Lavrov directly, he said everyone present knew who the aggressor in the war was, and he accused the Russian government of killing innocent civilians in Ukraine. He told the assembled ministers that members must work harder to secure a just and lasting peace. Russia's war, he said, continues to cause colossal global harm: thousands of civilian deaths, disruption to energy and supplies, and worsening food insecurity.

Miliband argued that the war is not only a test for Europe or NATO. He called on all members to apply economic and diplomatic pressure to deprive Putin of the revenues that sustain what he called a barbaric war. A British official separately told the BBC that the UK has a longstanding policy against direct, bilateral engagement with Russian ministers since the invasion of Ukraine, and that it does not intend to change it.

Ukraine, which is not a G20 member, has been invited to similar meetings in recent years. It was not invited to this one.

The awkwardness in Atlanta sits against a shifting background. Relations between Washington and Kyiv have been especially strained this month, with a diplomatic standoff between President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Donald Trump over Ukrainian strikes on oil infrastructure inside Russia. Ties between the US and Russia, by contrast, appear to have partly thawed in recent weeks. Trump waived some sanctions and agreed a deal to import Russian diesel for the American market.

That move comes as Trump tries to bring down fuel prices before Tuesday's midterm elections, after months spent dealing with the political fallout of the Iran war. Trump has said suspending several Russian sanctions is meant to keep Moscow at the negotiating table. Putin has said Russia, which introduced a diesel export ban earlier this year, is willing to supply both the US and global markets with oil and petroleum products.

Ukraine and its European allies have sharply criticised the arrangement. Zelensky called it a gift to Putin, and said it amounted to an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged.

Washington has not turned entirely away from Kyiv, though. This week the State Department said it had approved the sale of more than $2bn worth of Patriot missiles to Ukraine, munitions its air defences badly need against Russian attacks.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022 and now controls roughly a fifth of Ukrainian territory. In recent weeks Moscow has stepped up deadly missile and drone strikes on Kyiv and other cities. What to watch next is whether the US-Russia thaw, with its sanctions waivers and diesel deal, widens the gap with Ukraine and its European allies.