Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in South Africa on Thursday for a two-day meeting of the Group of 20 nations, where top European diplomats are expected to reinforce their support for Ukraine and 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, who were not involved.