President Lula slams Trump, insists Ramaphosa must attend G20

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Monday that US President Donald Trump has no right to bar South African President Cyril Ramaphosa from attending the G20 summit.

Speaking in Hannover, Germany, alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Lula said: “I told Ramaphosa that he must attend the G20. He must attend. He can’t go just because Trump said he wouldn’t.”

Relations between South Africa and the Trump administration have deteriorated in recent months. The US expelled South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool following his criticism of Trump.

Trump has cut all financial assistance to South Africa, accusing the government of allowing a “white genocide” against the white Afrikaner minority group. His administration has offered migration and asylum to white Afrikaners who say they feel persecuted in South Africa.

The two countries are also at odds over South Africa’s decision to pursue a case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians.

It remains unclear whether Ramaphosa will attend the G20 summit. The White House has not issued a formal statement barring him, despite Lula’s characterisation of Trump’s position.

SOURCE: Reuters