ISTANBUL

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Thursday 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 at a news conference on the sidelines of the G7 meeting.

He emphasized 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.

"We have always counted on South Africa and respect the important role it plays in international affairs. Regarding the G7, we invited Kenya in connection with preparations for the Africa Forward summit in May," he added.

Reports had suggested that South Africa's participation in the June summit was affected by external pressure, including claims that the US had urged France to disinvite South African President Cyril 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 Thursday that South Africa is not a G7 member and that its absence from the upcoming summit should not be seen as a snub.

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.