US’ Antony Blinken, Russian FM Sergei Lavrov work together at G20 meet amid disagreement over Ukraine

By Reuters: The United States and its European allies sparred with Russia over the warfare in Ukraine at a gathering of G20 international ministers in New Delhi on Thursday, with the rival sides every accusing the opposite of destabilising the world.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had a short encounter on the sidelines of the assembly throughout which Blinken urged Russia to reverse its choice on the New START nuclear treaty, a senior US official mentioned.

Blinken additionally instructed Lavrov that Washington was ready to assist Ukraine to defend itself for so long as it takes, the official mentioned. The two spoke for lower than 10 minutes, they mentioned.

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The Russian international ministry mentioned Lavrov and Blinken spoke “on the move” however didn’t maintain negotiations or a gathering, Russian information companies reported.

News of the change got here on the finish of the day-long G20 assembly which, as anticipated, was overshadowed by the Ukraine warfare.

The United States and its European allies urged the Group of 20 (G20) nations to maintain up stress on Moscow to finish the battle, now in its second yr.

Russia hit again, accusing the West of turning work on the G20 agenda right into a “farce” and mentioned Western delegations needed to shift duty for his or her financial failures onto Moscow.

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“We must continue to call on Russia to end its war of aggression and withdraw from Ukraine for the sake of international peace and economic stability,” Blinken mentioned in remarks launched after his deal with on the closed-door assembly.

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

He was backed by his counterparts from Germany, France and the Netherlands.

“Unfortunately, one G20 member prevents all the other 19 from focusing all their efforts on these issues the G20 was created for,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock instructed the assembly, in response to the German delegation.

“I ask you, Mr Lavrov, to return to full implementation of New START (nuclear arms treaty) and to resume dialogue with the US. Because, as China rightly pointed out in its 12-points-plan, the threat of nuclear weapons should be opposed,” she mentioned.

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President Vladimir Putin final week introduced Russia’s choice to droop participation within the newest START treaty, after accusing the West – with out offering proof – of being instantly concerned in makes an attempt to strike its strategic air bases.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, talking at a U.N. convention in Geneva, mentioned the United States had tried “to probe the security of Russian strategic facilities declared under the New START Treaty by assisting the Kyiv regime in conducting armed attacks against them”.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna mentioned the warfare in Ukraine had damage “almost every country on the planet, in terms of food, energy, inflation”.

“The G20 must respond firmly, like it did at the Bali Summit. The message at Bali was clear, as G20, we need to deliver solutions that protect the most vulnerable, instead of leaving them to suffer from Russia’s war,” Colonna mentioned, referring to the November assembly of heads of state and governments in Indonesia.

Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra instructed CNBC that Russia was solely liable for the warfare and should proceed to be sanctioned.

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‘FARCE’

Russia’s Lavrov, nonetheless, blamed the West for the worldwide political and financial crises.

“A number of Western delegations turned the work on the G20 agenda into a farce, wanting to shift the responsibility for their failures in the economy to the Russian Federation,” Lavrov mentioned, in response to a Russian assertion.

“The West creates obstacles for the export of agricultural products of the Russian Federation, no matter how the representatives of the EU convince the contrary,” he mentioned.

Lavrov additionally accused the West of “shamelessly burying” the Black Sea grain initiative that facilitates the export of Ukraine’s agricultural merchandise from its southern ports, the RIA Novosti information company reported.

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In an inaugural deal with, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi known as on the international ministers to seek out widespread floor on world points.

“You are meeting at a time of deep global divisions,” Modi mentioned in a video message. “We should not allow issues that we cannot resolve together to come in the way of those we can.”

India, which holds the presidency of the bloc this yr, has declined responsible Russia for the warfare and has sought a diplomatic answer whereas boosting its purchases of Russian oil.

The G20 is an financial grouping that features the rich G7 nations in addition to Russia, China, India, Brazil, Australia and Saudi Arabia, amongst different nations.

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Posted By:

chingkheinganbi mayengbam

Published On:

Mar 2, 2023