South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has sought to defuse tensions after reports had suggested that his country’s invitation to participate in the forthcoming G7 summit in France was withdrawn.

Reports claimed on Thursday that South Africa’s exclusion from the June summit was affected by external pressure, including claims that the US had urged France to disinvite President Ramaphosa.

Local media indicated that the South African presidency was notified weeks ago of the retraction of his invitation, which France had initially extended during the G20 summit in South Africa last year.

Ramaphosa said on Thursday that South Africa is not a G7 member and that its absence from the upcoming summit should not be seen as a snub.

‘Geo-economic issues’

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot has defended France's decisions regarding invitations to the upcoming G7 summit in Evian, saying the choices were made in coordination with invited partners and were not influenced by any external pressure.

"We did not give in to any pressure but made a choice consistent with our decision to hold a smaller G7 focused on geo-economic issues," Barrot said on Thursday at a news conference on the sidelines of the G7 meeting.

The French foreign minister emphasised that France's invitation choices were guided by the aim of holding a focused, geo-economically oriented summit, and stressed that the country remains in close contact with South Africa.

Invited guests

The summit regularly includes invited countries alongside the seven member states, with Kenya, Brazil, India, and South Korea among guests for 2026.

Relations between Washington and Pretoria have been strained in recent years over a range of foreign and domestic policy disputes, including South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and longstanding disagreements over land and farm policies affecting Afrikaners.

Washington had also imposed 30% tariffs on most South African exports, a move later overturned by the country's Supreme Court.