G20 'family photo' cancelled after protests over presence of Russian minister

ByTom Bateman, State department correspondent and Jack Burgess. 30 October 2026, 17: 08 GMT.

Key points

• Ukraine and its European allies have heavily criticised Trump's accord with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
• Russia introduced its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and at present controls approximately a fifth of Ukrainian territory.
• The session, which gathers top diplomats from the world's biggest economies, is being hosted in Atlanta by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
• British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is present and a diplomatic source confirmed the UK was among the countries which refused to participate in the picture.
• Ukraine is not not a G20 member but has been invited to similar meetings over recent years.

European diplomats have refused to stand for an official photo with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the G20 Foreign Ministers' Session in the US, leading to the American hosts cancelling the planned picture.

Two authorities confirmed to the BBC the cancellation of the so-called family photo scheduled for Friday morning. It would usually include representatives from all the nations in attendance.

In practice, the session, which gathers top diplomats from the world's biggest economies, is being hosted in Atlanta by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Ukraine is not not a G20 member but has been invited to similar meetings over recent years. Nevertheless, Ukraine was not invited to this gathering.

Relations between Ukraine and the US have been particularly tense this month, with a diplomatic standoff between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump over Kyiv's strikes on oil infrastructure within Russia.

One British official remarked: "The UK has a longstanding policy not to have direct, bilateral engagement with Russian ministers since the invasion of Ukraine and we are not about to change that".

For context, a US official remarked the photo was cancelled "after it became clear some of the delegations were unwilling to participate in a joint photo".

"Rather than allow a ceremonial photo opportunity to become a diplomatic distraction, the US decided to forgo the photo and keep the focus on the substantive discussions, " the official remarked.

As Trump waived some sanctions and agreed a accord to import Russian diesel for the American market, in contrast to Ukraine, relations between the US and Russia appear to have partially thawed in recent weeks.

After months spent grappling with the political consequences of the Iran war, the move comes as Trump attempts to lower fuel rates in the US ahead of mid-term elections at the start of November.

Zelensky called it "a gift" to Putin that amounts to "an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged".

Trump remarked his decision to suspend a number of Russian sanctions is an effort to keep Moscow at the negotiating table in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Putin has remarked Russia. It introduced a ban on diesel exports earlier this year, is willing to supply both the US and global markets with oil and petroleum products.

Moscow has in recent weeks intensified its deadly missile and drone attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.

For now, G20 ' family photo' cancelled after protests over presence of Russian minister remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.