AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The foreign ministers of the world's richest countries are gathered in South Africa for a key meeting. Not among them is U.S. chief diplomat Marco Rubio. Kate Bartlett reports from Johannesburg.
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TREVOR NOAH: Hi. I'm Trevor Noah.
KATE BARTLETT, BYLINE: Comedian Trevor Noah, doing his bit to promote his country on the official G20 website.
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NOAH: So now that I've shown you South Africa, my only question is, when are you coming to experience it for yourself?
BARTLETT: The answer is Marco Rubio's not. South Africa currently holds the revolving presidency of the G20 group of major economies, which also includes the African Union and the European Union. And on Thursday it hosted its first event. Secretary of State Rubio boycotted the meeting after objecting to what he called South Africa's, quote, "anti-Americanism."
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PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA: When they don't come, they're missing out big time.
BARTLETT: But South African President Cyril Ramaphosa brushed off the slight when asked about Rubio's awkward absence. Relations between the U.S. and South Africa have been fraught recently after President Donald Trump falsely accused the country of land grabs and cut off financial aid.
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UNKNOWN TRADITIONAL SINGERS: (Singing in non-English language).
BARTLETT: At the conference center in Johannesburg, foreign ministers were greeted on the red carpet by traditional dancers and singers ululating. And while an embassy charge d'affaires came to represent the U.S. in Rubio's stead, China and Russia, increasingly important players in Africa, both sent their top officials, Wang Yi and Sergey Lavrov.
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UNKNOWN TRADITIONAL SINGERS: (Singing in non-English language).
BARTLETT: But all the pomp and ceremony South Africa rolled out couldn't hide the fractures.
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RAMAPHOSA: Geopolitical tensions and rising intolerance, conflict and war, climate change...
BARTLETT: Are all threatening global coexistence, Ramaphosa said. Trump's shock rapprochement with Russia this week is a key concern of many diplomats here.
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RAMAPHOSA: Yet there is a lack of consensus amongst major powers, including in the G20, on how to respond to these issues of global significance.
BARTLETT: But Ramaphosa, a seasoned diplomat, wasn't about to let things get derailed. He said that he still hoped Trump would attend the G20 summit in South Africa in November and joked that they might even get in a round of golf.
For NPR News, I'm Kate Bartlett in Johannesburg. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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