As the host of this year’s G20 summit, the Trump administration has invited Poland (which is not a member of the G20) to attend, with the intention of making it a permanent member, while unilaterally excluding South Africa (which was a founding member of the G20 at its inception in 1999). Asked about this, Lavrov replied that “this violates the principles of diplomacy, especially in a multilateral framework, where the participants in associations such as the G20 work on the basis of consensus—both with regard to the agenda and the invitation of new members, as well as, naturally, the exclusion of original parties to this format, such as the Republic of South Africa. Many today spoke of the need to return to the principle of consensus, including the regular, equal participation of the Republic of South Africa.”

He then elaborated on Poland: “As for Poland, it adds nothing. Firstly, in terms of the size of its economy, it does not fall into the required category of nations. Secondly, as they claim, it represents Eastern Europe. There is no such concept as Eastern Europe; there is only the concept of the European Union and NATO. The policies of these two associations are quite adequately represented by those who have been members of the G20 from the very beginning… The G20 should reflect more accurately and faithfully the trends in the real global economy.”