On February 5, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he would not attend the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in South Africa.
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| US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not attend the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, held on February 20-21 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Source: X) |
According to Samaa TV, the decision was made by Secretary of State Rubio a few days after President Donald Trump threatened to cut aid to South Africa in response to a Cape Town law that allows the government to confiscate land without compensation in certain cases.
The G20 foreign ministers' meeting is scheduled to take place on February 20-21 in Johannesburg, marking South Africa's G20 presidency.
Writing on social network X, US Secretary of State Rubio criticized: "South Africa is doing very bad things."
According to the head of the US State Department, his mission is to "advance the national interest, not waste taxpayer money or tolerate anti-Americanism", and confirmed that he will be absent from the G20 meetings in South Africa.
The property expropriation law Mr Rubio referred to, passed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's administration last month, allows land to be seized without compensation if it is deemed "fair and equitable" and in the public interest, such as in cases where the property is not being used.
The law aims to address racial disparities in land ownership, a legacy of apartheid, where black South Africans, who make up more than 80% of the population, own less than 5% of private farmland. In contrast, white South Africans own the majority of farmland despite making up just 7% of the population.
The Trump administration has been highly critical of the law, with the White House chief accusing Ramaphosa's administration of "land seizures" and mistreatment of specific demographic groups. The US has now frozen aid to South Africa in protest.
However, President Ramaphosa has defended the law, insisting that Cape Town has not confiscated any land and that the policy is intended to ensure equitable access to land.
This was a necessary step to address the inequalities left behind by the apartheid regime and was part of a statutory process mandated by the South African constitution, he explained.
Secretary Rubio's decision follows the current trend of the US approach to multilateral diplomacy, which is to withdraw from international programs and organizations, such as the Paris Climate Agreement, the World Health Organization (WHO), and cut funding for some United Nations agencies, merging the US Agency for International Development (USAID) into the State Department.
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/chua-hoa-giai-xong-khuc-mac-voi-nam-phi-my-tay-chay-hoi-nghi-ngoai-truong-g20-303404.html
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