France denies that it disinvited South Africa from G7
France on Thursday denied accusations it caved into US pressure and withdrew an alleged invitation for South Africa to attend a G7 summit later this year.
The South African presidency told AFP earlier in the day that Washington urged Paris to disinvite President Cyril Ramaphosa from the G7 summit in France in June. But France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Kenya – rather than South Africa – had been invited to the meeting of the club of industrialised democracies in the French town of Evian.
“We did not give in to any pressure,” Barrot told reporters on the sidelines of a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in France.
“We made a choice consistent with our decision to hold a streamlined G7 focused on geo-economic issues,” he added. He did not respond to a question about whether an invitation had actually been issued to South Africa.
“We have always counted on South Africa and we respect the important role it plays in international affairs,” Barrot said.
“We remain in close contact with South Africa, a key partner of France on all major global issues.”
