South African president says US now wants to reverse its boycott and join G20 summit

The United States government has indicated that it has had a ''change of mind'' and wants to participate at the Group of 20 summit in South Africa in a reverse of its boycott, the South African president said Thursday.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the summit host country had received communication from the US at ''the 11th hour'' and was now working on the logistics to accommodate the US.

US President Donald Trump had announced that his administration would boycott the two-day meeting of rich and developing nations in Johannesburg that opens on Saturday. Trump has said the US was boycotting over his claims that Ramaphosa's government is violently persecuting a white minority.