South Africa will take a 'break' from G20 under Trump

South Africa's presidency joked on Thursday that the country would "take a commercial break" from the G20 while U.S. President Donald Trump leads the forum, after Trump's administration confirmed it will not invite South Africa to participate.



The U.S. took over the rotating presidency of the Group of 20 last week, after boycotting the summit that President Cyril Ramaphosa hosted in Johannesburg.

According to Ramaphosa's spokesperson "About this time next year, the UK will be taking over the G20 presidency. We will be able to engage meaningfully and substantively over what really matters to the rest of the world,".



"For now, we will take a commercial break until we resume normal programming," .



Relations between Washington and Pretoria have reached a low this year as Trump has repeatedly made false claims about a "white genocide" in South Africa and criticized the country for its policies aimed at addressing racial inequality.



Trump's administration also opposed the theme of South Africa's G20 presidency, which was "solidarity, equality and sustainability".



Trump had already said that South Africa would not be invited to the G20 leaders' summit he hosts next year in Florida, but it was unclear whether Pretoria would also be excluded from the many meetings leading up to it.