Banners of various G20 leaders are displayed along a Johannesburg freeway, in South Africa, on Thursday.

Another bitter clash between the Trump administration and South Africa is threatening to overshadow the G20 summit this weekend, with Pretoria refusing to accept a U.S. request to send a delegation to the closing session.

U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier vowed that his administration would boycott the G20 summit in Johannesburg. In response, South Africa said it would simply leave an empty chair at the G20 round table for the entire weekend, even at a planned handover ceremony where the G20 presidency was to be transferred to the United States, host of next year’s summit.

On Thursday, less than two days before the summit opens, the U.S. embassy in Pretoria asked for permis

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