South Africa will take a 'break' from G20 under Trump, presidency says

JOHANNESBURG, Dec 4 (Reuters) - South Africa's presidency joked on Thursday that the country would "take a commercial break" from the G20 while U.S. President Donald Trump leads the forum, after Trump's administration confirmed it will not invite South Africa to participate.

The U.S. took over the rotating presidency of the Group of 20 last week, after boycotting the summit that President Cyril Ramaphosa hosted in Johannesburg.

"About this time next year, the UK will be taking over the G20 presidency. We will be able to engage meaningfully and substantively over what really matters to the rest of the world," said Ramaphosa's spokesperson Vincent Magwenya.

"For now, we will take a commercial break until we resume normal programming," he wrote on social media.

Relations between Washington and Pretoria have reached a low this year as Trump has repeatedly made false claims about a "white genocide" in South Africa and criticized the country for its policies aimed at addressing racial inequality.

Trump's administration also opposed the theme of South Africa's G20 presidency, which was "solidarity, equality and sustainability".

Trump had already said that South Africa would not be invited to the G20 leaders' summit he hosts next year in Florida, but it was unclear whether Pretoria would also be excluded from the many meetings leading up to it.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio seemed to confirm on Wednesday that South Africa would not be able to take part in any G20 engagements next year.

"President Trump and the United States will not be extending an invitation to the South African government to participate in the G20 during our presidency," he said in a statement.

South Africa is a founding member of the G20, which brings together the world's largest economies.

Presidential spokesperson Magwenya said previously that Pretoria would not lobby other nations for support, but that it had received messages of solidarity from a number of other G20 members.

Nellie Peyton and Alexander Winning/Reuters