JOHANNESBURG

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said Thursday that if his country does not attend the upcoming G7 summit in France, it should not be viewed as a snub or surprise anyone, since Pretoria is not a member of the group of seven powerful nations.

“The invitation to the G7 does not mean that you’re being snubbed if you’re not invited or you’re being ignored," he told reporters in response to a question about whether France had decided to cancel South Africa’s invitation over alleged pressure from the United States.

Reports claimed on Thursday that the United States had placed huge pressure on France to disinvite Ramaphosa from attending the summit scheduled for June in the French town of Evian. They claimed US President Donald Trump would boycott the event if Ramaphosa attended.

The United States and South Africa have had frosty relations for some time now, due to disagreements on foreign and domestic policies, including Pretoria’s decision to file a case against Israel with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for alleged genocide in its war on Gaza.

Trump has criticized the South African government on several occasions for the alleged “killing and slaughter” of Afrikaners, who are descended from Dutch, French, and German settlers.

He has also accused Pretoria of the “illegal confiscation” of farms and land belonging to the Afrikaners, a claim Pretoria has denied several times, saying it’s untrue.

The US, last year, boycotted the G20 summit in Johannesburg, the first ever hosted on the African continent. It has also offered refuge to Afrikaners who wish to relocate to the US.

Ramaphosa, who has previously attended several G7 summits as a guest of the host nation, said: “So many countries around the world don’t get invited to the G7, and we are not a member. When we do go, we are invited, and we take a message there," he said.

He added that his country has not attended every G7 summit and that if they do not attend the June summit, it should come as no surprise to anyone.

According to local media reports, the South African presidency was notified weeks ago that Ramaphosa's invitation to the June summit had been retracted. The French Embassy in South Africa has yet to confirm the cancellation of South Africa’s invitation.