The decision was taken at the initiative of a number of countries, Bloomberg reported, cited by TV Rain and The Moscow Times. The meeting of G20 foreign ministers is being held in Atlanta on October 30 and 31.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told journalists there would be no joint photo with Lavrov "because there are no normal relations with Russia." He said disagreements should be discussed at the negotiating table but that "false visual signals" should be avoided.
His Polish counterpart, Radoslaw Sikorski, called Lavrov's participation in the meeting an "awkward moment."
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on the refusal to pose for the photograph: "Wadephul scared Sergei Viktorovich with naked German diplomacy."
The ministers are discussing Russia's war in Ukraine, US and Israeli military operations in Iran, difficulties in the transit of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, the US administration's tariffs and China's actions in the South China Sea.
The meeting precedes a G20 leaders' summit in Miami in December. US President Donald Trump has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow "is grateful to the American side for this invitation," but that a decision on participation has not yet been made.
According to The Moscow Times, the refusal by Germany and a number of other countries became a visible symbol of the disagreements between the United States and its allies that have arisen from Trump's attempts to move closer to Russia as part of efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
A similar situation occurred in September at a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Asheville, when US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent invited his Russian counterpart, Anton Siluanov, without coordinating with other participants. Representatives of Germany and a number of other countries said at the time that they would not be photographed with him, and Siluanov did not appear in the group photo.