Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has arrived in South Africa for a two-day meeting of the Group of 20 nations, where top European diplomats are expected to reinforce their support for Ukraine

U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he saw no appetite for peace from Russia in Ukraine after listening to a speech by Russia's top diplomat at a tense Group of 20 meeting in South Africa on Thursday.

A meeting of foreign ministers from G20 countries will get underway in Johannesburg on Thursday, but U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not attend amid diplomatic tensions between South Africa and the U.

The absence of Secretary of State Marco Rubio hung over the year’s first high-level meeting of the world’s largest economies, with diplomats fretting over turbulent times.

Johannesburg was given a cleaning up before the arrival of foreign dignitaries for G20 meetings, but residents are asking why this can't be done consistently.

Top diplomats from the Group of 20 major economies gathered in South Africa on Thursday and Friday for meetings focused on a packed global agenda, but these were overshadowed by the absence of the US's secretary of state Marco Rubio.

Rubio said he would also be skipping the main G20 summit in Johannesburg later this year due to South Africa's "DEI and climate change" frameworks