France on Thursday denied accusations that it had given in to American pressure and withdrawn an alleged invitation to South Africa to participate in the G7 summit scheduled for Evian from June 15 to 17.
Paris says it has rather set its sights on Kenya for this meeting while affirming that it recognizes the role that South Africa plays in the concert of nations.
While Pretoria claimed that Washington had urged France to withdraw its invitation to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“We have always relied on South Africa and we respect the important role it plays in international affairs. Regarding the G7, we decided to invite Kenya to Evian in light of the work we are doing together to prepare for the Africa Forward Summit, the Africa-France Summit, which will be held on May 11 and 12 in Nairobi. We did not yield to any pressure, but we made a choice consistent with our decision to organize a smaller G7 summit focused on geoeconomic issues. We remain in close contact with South Africa, a key partner of France on all major global issues,” said Jean-Noël Barrot, French Minister of Foreign Affairs.
But relations between Pretoria and Washington have been strained for months. Trump boycotted the G20 summit hosted by South Africa last November. The alleged persecution of Afrikaners is among the points of contention.
Did Donald Trump use the boycott to force France to "tear up" the South African invitation? In Pretoria, they firmly believe so.
