South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has rejected Washington’s plan to send a low-ranking diplomat to receive the G20 presidency at this weekend’s summit, escalating tensions between the two countries over the United States boycott of the gathering.
Ramaphosa will not hand over the G20 presidency to a chargé d’affaires, the president’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said in a post on X late on Thursday.
A chargé d’affaires is the lowest-ranking head of mission in diplomatic practice and is typically appointed only when a country does not have an ambassador in place.
The pushback came after the United States informed South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation it would send an eight-member delegation led by Marc D. Dillard, the US chargé d’affaires in Pretoria, to attend only the presidency handover ceremony on Sunday.
A diplomatic note from the US Embassy, seen by Reuters, states that “Chargé Dillard will participate in the G20 Presidency handover ceremony as part of the closing session on November 23.”
The United States does not currently have an ambassador in South Africa. Brent Bozell III, nominated by President Donald Trump to the post, awaits Senate confirmation to replace Reuben E. Brigety II, who resigned in January.
South Africa considers the G20 presidency handover a high-level ceremonial event between heads of state, making the assignment of a chargé d’affaires to lead the US delegation a diplomatic slight, according to government sources.
“The President will not hand over to a chargé d’affaires. It’s a breach of protocol. No head of state and government anywhere in the world will do it and it won’t start here in South Africa,” Magwenya told local media.
The dispute deepened after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt accused Ramaphosa of “running his mouth” during a Thursday briefing, saying the South African president’s characterization of US participation was not appreciated by Trump’s administration.
“I saw the South African president running his mouth a little bit against the United States and the president of the United States earlier today, and that language is not appreciated by the president or his team,” Leavitt said.
Trump announced a boycott of the G20 summit citing claims that South Africa’s government is persecuting white Afrikaner farmers, allegations that have been widely disputed.
Earlier Thursday, Ramaphosa had confirmed receiving notice from Washington about a “change of mind” regarding participation in the summit, calling it a positive sign because “boycott politics never work.”
Leavitt clarified that the US delegation would attend only the handover ceremony “as a formality” and would not participate in summit discussions.
Other major leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Argentine President Javier Milei are also not attending, though China and Russia are sending high-level delegations to participate in talks.
The G20 comprises 19 countries plus the European Union and African Union, accounting for 85% of global GDP and two-thirds of the world’s population. South Africa is the first African nation to hold the rotating presidency.
The United States will assume the presidency for 2026, with Trump planning to host the next summit at his golf club in Doral, Florida.
It remains unclear whether South Africa will proceed with the handover ceremony if the United States maintains its plan to send only Dillard, or whether Washington will reconsider its delegation level.