US President Donald Trump announced that South Africa would not be invited to next year's G20 summit in Miami, taking his diplomatic offensive against the country to a new level.
Trump cited on Wednesday what he described as "horrific Human Right Abuses" endured by white farmers, and South Africa's refusal to symbolically hand off the G20 presidency at the end of this year's summit to the United States.
"South Africa has demonstrated to the World they are not a country worthy of Membership anywhere," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump's government snubbed this year's G20 summit, which recently concluded in Johannesburg, saying South Africa's priorities, including cooperation on trade and climate, ran counter to its policies.
In response, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa refused to formally hand over the G20 presidency to the next host country, the United States, as is customary.
Claims of 'white genocide'
Trump's officials have also made unfounded accusations of a "white genocide" targeting Afrikaners, descendants of the first European settlers, in South Africa.
"The South African Government refuses to acknowledge or address the horrific Human Right Abuses endured by Afrikaners, and other descendants of Dutch, French, and German settlers," Trump wrote in his post on Wednesday. "To put it more bluntly, they are killing white people, and randomly allowing their farms to be taken from them."
Later, Ramaphosa expressed regret over Trump's remarks, his office said.
In May, at the White House, Trump ambushed Ramaphosa by showing him a video riddled with errors, supposedly proving his accusations, which South Africa denies.
The G20 summit, a format that brings together the world's 20 largest economies, is scheduled to take place in December 2026 at the Trump National Doral Miami golf resort in Florida, owned by the US president's family.
___
Source: TRT