Johannesburg: A representative from the US Embassy in South Africa will attend the formal handover ceremony at the end of this weekend’s Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg, but the United States will still not take part in any talks, a White House official said Thursday.

The official, who was not authorised to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, was responding to comments by South Africa’s president that the US had indicated it had a “change of mind” over its boycott at the “11th hour” and would take part in the summit.

US President Donald Trump announced this month that no US government official would attend the two-day meeting of world leaders from rich and developing countries in South Africa’s biggest city.

Trump cited South Africa’s alleged race-based persecution o

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