US pressured France over G7 summit invitations - Politico
Kyiv • UNN
France canceled Cyril Ramaphosa's invitation to the G7 summit due to US threats to boycott the event. Paris denies Trump's pressure and explains the decision by logistics.
France may have canceled the invitation to the President of South Africa to the G7 summit after pressure from the United States, which allegedly threatened to boycott the event. This is reported by Politico, according to UNN.
Details
South Africa says Paris has withdrawn an invitation to President Cyril Ramaphosa to the G7 leaders' summit in June. According to presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya, France, which holds the G7 presidency this year, took this step after pressure from Washington.
According to him, the US threatened to boycott the meeting in Evian-les-Bains if South Africa was invited. "We have accepted France's decision and understand the pressure it has been under. South Africa will always seek to resolve disputes through constructive dialogue," Magwenya said.
US President Donald Trump has previously repeatedly criticized Ramaphosa, including over allegations of violence against the white minority in South Africa, which are often called unfounded.
Although South Africa is not a member of the G7, its president has regularly been invited to previous summits, including in Canada last year.
The White House and the office of French President Emmanuel Macron have not yet commented on these allegations. At the same time, Macron's adviser told journalists that Ramaphosa and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not receive invitations to this year's summit.
France denies that the decision on invitations was made taking into account Trump's position, and explains it by the priorities of the summit — in particular, the focus on global imbalances and tensions between the US and China, as well as logistical constraints.