Foreign Minister Antony J. Blinken had a brief meeting on Thursday with his Russian counterpart, Sergey V. Lavrov, on the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting, the first face-to-face meeting between the two top diplomats since Russia. comprehensive agreement begins. scale invasion of Ukraine over a year ago.
The unexpected encounter came as the Russian government, on the occasion of a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in New Delhi, the Indian capital, accused Western nations of “extortion and intimidation.”
During their meeting, Blinken made three points with Lavrov, a senior State Department official told reporters: The United States will continue to assist Ukraine in its defense against Russia “until the end of the day.” as long as it is necessary”; Russia should rejoin the New START nuclear arms control treaty from which it recently withdrawn and comply with the terms; and that Russia should release Paul Whelanan American citizen whom the United States considers unjustly imprisoned.
The official did not say who initiated the meeting between the two diplomats.
Earlier on Thursday, Mr Blinken used the G20 meeting to urge Russia to withdraw from Ukraine for international peace and stability.
And he has held face-to-face talks with top diplomats from the G20 nations, with the aim of rallying greater support for Ukraine as it tries to roll back a conflict. Russian army attack and prepare for a potential new Russian attack this spring.
“We must continue to call on Russia to end its war of aggression and withdraw its troops from Ukraine for international peace and economic stability,” Blinken said in a closed-door meeting in the morning, according to the text of the speech. His statement released to reporters of the State Department. “Unfortunately, this meeting was once again marred by Russia’s gratuitous and unjustified war against Ukraine,” he added.
Mr. Blinken said Wednesday before flying from Uzbekistan to India that he had no plans to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov or Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang. Blinken and Lavrov have avoided direct confrontation since the war began last February.
After a meeting on the sidelines between Mr. Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart, Mr. Qin, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a strongly worded statement saying that Western nations were interfering in the “internal affairs of the country”. other countries, to impose unilateral approaches through intimidation and blackmail, and to oppose the democratization of international relations.”
Earlier on Thursday, Russian state media downplayed the possibility of a meeting between Blinken and Lavrov. The two men “sat apart” at the first plenary of the G20 meeting, Russian state media reported. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the meeting between the two sides would not take place because “destruction is a logical part of US foreign policy in general”, state news agency Tass reported. believe.
Lavrov said the meeting would not end with a joint statement as is customary due to disagreements over the war in Ukraine.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India said in a open video address told diplomats that, while he understood that the discussions were “affected by the geopolitical tensions of the day” – a clear reference to the Ukraine war – he hoped they would focus on Global crises affect many developing countries around the world. He cited economic issues, climate change and pandemics.
However, the war in Ukraine still prevailed during the morning group session and other parts of the meeting. Mr Blinken met Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar face-to-face and the two “discussed how to mitigate the global impact of Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine” and “US and India’s cooperation in the region”. Indo-Pacific,” the State Department said in a reading. The second phrase refers to strategic efforts in Asia, including military coordination, to counter China.
On Wednesday in Uzbekistan, the second stop on a two-day trip to Central Asia, Mr. Blinken said that Biden administration finds “no evidence” that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is prepared engage in serious peace negotiations.
Mujib Mashal contribution report.
