Washington: A representative from the US Embassy in South Africa will attend the formal handover ceremony at the close of this weekend’s Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg, though Washington will not join any discussions, a White House official said on Thursday.

The clarification came after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa suggested earlier that the United States had changed its stance “at the 11th hour” and would participate in the summit it had planned to boycott.

US President Donald Trump had announced earlier this month that no American officials would attend the two-day meeting, citing South Africa’s alleged persecution of its white Afrikaner minority as the reason for the boycott. The US is scheduled to assume the rotating presidency of the G20 from South Africa, with the ha

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