U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will skip a meeting of foreign ministers from the leading rich and developing nations, known as the Group of 20, that starts on Thursday

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has arrived in South Africa for a two-day meeting of the Group of 20 nations, where top European diplomats are expected to reinforce their support for Ukraine.

South Africa's rand firmed slightly in early trade on Thursday, recouping some of the previous session's losses as focus shifted from a delay in the national budget to the first meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Johannesburg.