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Lamola responds to Rubio’s attack on South Africa and G20 Estelle.Bronkhorst Fri, 12/05/2025 - 06:55 JOHANNESBURG - South Africa has responded to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio s explosive substack newsletter.He blasts Pretoria, saying Washington will not tolerate the behaviour of what he calls the radical ANC-led government.He also slammed the Joburg G20 for its focus on climate change, diversity and inclusion.Rubio said the G20 this year was an exercise in spite, division, and radical agendas, and that South Africa ignored the US and other countries’ inputs into negotiations. READ: SA snubbed as US hosts first G20 meetingHe added that “President [Donald] Trump and the United States will not be extending an invitation to the South African government to participate in the G20 during our presidency. There is a place for good faith disagreement, but not dishonesty or sabotage.”Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola has responded on behalf of the government, seeking to set the record straight and educate the top US diplomat on the success of this year’s G20. He also clarified several points about South Africa’s economy and history, saying that to call the South African economy a failure is an exaggeration.READ: Trump launches US G20 Presidency with sharp shift in agenda“Secretary Rubio, the world is watching. It is growing weary of double standards. It is tired of lectures on democracy from those who seem to have forgotten that democracy, at its best, must listen as much as it speaks, Lamola wrote.Pretoria has made it clear it won’t encourage other countries to boycott next year’s G20 in the United States, but as the relationship continues to fracture, it’s unclear whether the US will urge others, including the 2027 hosts, the UK, to continue barring South Africa from attending.eNCA correspondent Mitch McCann reports.

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