Russia's Lavrov joins top European diplomats at a G20 meeting in South Africa. Rubio is skipping it

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has arrived in South Africa for a two-day meeting of the Group of 20 nations, where top European diplomats are expected to reinforce their support for Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is a high-profile absentee. Lavrov traveled to Johannesburg for the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting two days after landmark bilateral talks between the United States and Russia over ending the war in Ukraine. Those talks sidelined the U.S.’s European allies and Ukraine. Rubio’s decision to boycott this week’s meeting and his pledge to also skip the main G20 summit in South Africa in November threatens to undermine the G20’s effectiveness.