‘BONEHEADED’

Rubio Forced to Axe Photo Op Before Trump Golf Club Summit

G20 diplomats are meeting in Atlanta for a two-day summit ahead of the main event in December.

#2

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been forced to scrap a traditional G20 photo opportunity after several European diplomats said they will refuse to pose alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Rubio organized the group photo for participants in the G20 foreign ministers meeting, which kicks off in Atlanta on Friday. The two-day event is a precursor to the G20 leaders’ summit, which will be hosted this year at President Donald Trump Miami Golf Club in December. Rubio has canceled the planned photo opportunity after other top diplomats threatened to boycott the photo session if Lavrov was there, whose presence will cause tensions amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Ian Kelly, the former U.S. ambassador to Georgia, had warned Trump that inviting Lavrov to the G20 foreign ministers meeting would provide an unnecessary headache just days out from the midterms. “It seems politically boneheaded to invite him,” Kelly said. Kelly added that Lavrov’s presence also makes it harder to project a united support for Ukraine amid the invasion. It is unclear if Russian President Vladimir Putin will accept Trump’s invitation to attend the G20 summit at the Trump National Doral Miami resort.