JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has said that the United States had signalled it may reconsider its participation in the upcoming Group of 20 (G20) summit in Johannesburg, but the White House dismissed the claim as "fake news."

Ramaphosa made the remarks on Thursday at a joint press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.

"We have received notice from the United States, a notice which we are still in discussions with them about, about a change of mind about participating in one shape, form or other in the summit," he said, adding that the development came just days before the meeting, and further engagement was needed "to see how practical it is and what it finally really means."

While reposting the South African Broadcasting Corporation's report over the U.S. intention "to rejoin summit discussions," White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly dismissed it as "fake news" on social media X.

Moreover, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at Thursday's briefing that Washington will not take part in the G20 discussions, saying an envoy would attend only the presidency handover ceremony at the end of the summit.

It is reported that the U.S. charge d'affaires in Pretoria, Marc D. Dillard, will attend the handover ceremony as a formality.

In response, Vincent Magwenya, spokesperson to Ramaphosa, wrote on X: "The President will not hand over to a charge d'affaires."

In early November, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that no U.S. officials would attend the first G20 summit hosted on African soil, citing alleged ill-treatment of Afrikaners and "genocide," a claim strongly rejected by South Africa. Enditem