Blinken, Lavrov made contact, but didn't talk, says Russian spokesperson

New Delhi: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked for “contact” with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov during the second session of G20 foreign ministers meet in India’s capital New Delhi, but “there were no talks or full fledged meeting,” said Russian spokesperson Maria Zarkhova on Thursday.

A report by Russia’s Interfax news agency mentioned Russian Foreign Ministry confirming that both the diplomats “conversed briefly” but “there were no negotiations”

The unscheduled meeting came amid the Russian government’s accusation on Western nations of “blackmail and threats.”

Blinken-Lavrov meet first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Blinken-Lavrov talks were on the sidelines of G20 foreign ministers meet and were the first one-on-one between the two top diplomats since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than a year ago.

Both the diplomats have attended other international meetings together and sat in the same room over the past year, but have usually avoided each other, as they did at a G20 meeting last summer in Bali, Indonesia, and at a meeting of foreign ministers of Southeast Asian nations and partners in Cambodia.

What did Blinken say to Lavrov?

According to a report by news agency AFP, Blinken reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to protecting Ukraine after growing support from European allies for peace initiatives.

Blinken wanted to “disabuse the Russians of any notion that our support might be wavering” on Ukraine, a US official said on condition of anonymity.

A report by The New York Times (NYT) quoted a senior US State Department official saying that Blinken made three points to Lavrov:

1 – The US would continue to support Ukraine in its defence against Russia “for as long as it takes”

2 – Russia should rejoin the New START nuclear arms control treaty from which it recently withdrew and abide by the terms

3 – Russia should release former US marine Paul Whelan who has been sentenced to 16 years of hard labour in Russia on suspicion of spying.

At the G20 foreign ministers meeting, Blinken repeated a forceful call for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine and accused Moscow of undermining international peace and stability.

“Unfortunately, this meeting has again been marred by Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war against Ukraine,” Blinken said.

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