U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday he would skip Group of 20 talks this month in South Africa, accusing the host government of an "anti-American" agenda.
Rubio's announcement comes days after US President Donald Trump lashed out at South Africa over land reforms aimed at redressing inequalities perpetrated during the apartheid era.
In a post on X that took on the tone of Trump, Rubio said he would boycott the G20 talks of foreign ministers in Johannesburg on February 20-21.
"South Africa is doing very bad things. Expropriating private property. Using G20 to promote 'solidarity, equality, & sustainability,'" Rubio wrote in his post.
"In other words: DEI and climate change."
DEI, or diversity, equity and inclusion, has been attacked relentlessly by Trump since he returned to the White House last month.
"My job is to advance America's national interests, not waste taxpayer money or coddle anti-Americanism."
South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola on Thursday rejected Rubio's claims, saying in a statement that "there is no arbitrary dispossession of land / private property" with the new land reform law.
"This law is similar to the Eminent domain laws," he said, referring to longtime US laws allowing the federal government to acquire property for public use.
Lamola added that South Africa is "a sovereign and democratic country committed to human dignity, equality and rights."
"Our G20 presidency, is not confined to just climate change but also equitable treatment for nations of the Global South, ensuring equal global system for all."
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had dismissed Trump's assertions earlier this week that South Africa was "confiscating" land and said he was ready to explain his government's land reform policy to his US counterpart.
On Tuesday, Ramaphosa raised concerns about "disinformation" being spread by the US president with top Trump ally Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa and the world's richest man.
Land ownership is a contentious issue in South Africa with most farmland still owned by white people three decades after the end of apartheid. The government is under pressure to implement reforms.
The absence of the United States, the world's largest economy, would mark a major blow to the G20, which is meant to represent the world's largest economies.
The meeting could have offered a first opportunity for Rubio to meet his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, as Trump pushes for diplomacy on the Ukraine war.
© Agence France-Presse