South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has downplayed reports that his invitation to the forthcoming G7 summit in France has been withdrawn, stating that non-attendance by a country outside the bloc should surprise no one.
Reports on Thursday indicated that the U.S. had pressured France to rescind Ramaphosa's invitation to the summit scheduled for June, with claims that U.S. President Donald Trump threatened a boycott if Ramaphosa attended.
The invitation to the G7 does not mean that you're being snubbed if you're not invited or you're being ignored, said Ramaphosa.
France has, however, denied yielding to any pressure from the U.S., asserting that their decision to invite Kenya instead is part of efforts to rectify global economic imbalances.
The French presidency stated it would also host leaders from South Korea, India, and Brazil at the annual summit in Évian-les-Bains.
A South African official mentioned that the country was excluded from the summit following sustained pressure from the U.S., which Ramaphosa later refuted, asserting that there had been no pressure from any country according to his sources.
He remarked, So many countries around the world don't get invited to the G7, and we are not a member. When we do go, we are invited, and we take a message there. Ramaphosa has attended several G7 summits as a guest in the past.
Moreover, the French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot confirmed that the invitation of Kenya was a strategic choice aligned with the upcoming France-Africa summit in May, saying that France has not yielded to any external pressures regarding the G7 attendees.
This exclusion comes amidst tensions between South Africa and the U.S., particularly under Trump's administration, which has seen disagreements over trade, diplomacy, and the treatment of South Africa's white minority.
Ramaphosa maintains that despite the withdrawal of the G7 invitation, South Africa's bilateral relationship with France remains strong and unaffected.
