United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, their first face-to-face talks since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war.
During the brief conversation on Thursday, Blinken urged the Russian official to support the end of the conflict that has taken the lives of countless soldiers and civilians from both sides. Despite the meeting, there was no indication that the two officials worked to ease rising tensions between the two countries.
Blinken Meets Lavrov
It also comes as U.S.-Russia relations have deteriorated since the beginning of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Tensions have also risen between Washington and Moscow over disagreements, complaints, and recriminations on other issues, such as arms control, embassy staffing, and prisoners.
American authorities said that Blinken and Lavrov held a brief meeting that lasted about 10 minutes when foreign ministers worldwide met in New Delhi for the G20 Summit. However, there needed to be a clear indication of progress in their talks. The conference ended without a consensus on the Ukraine war being agreed upon, as per the Associated Press.
While the recent discussions did not result in anything concrete, the fact that the two officials met showed that the highest level of communication between the two nations remains open. During a news conference, the US Secretary of State told his Russian counterpart that the American government would continue supporting Ukraine.
Blinken also called for an end to the war of aggression, urging Russia to engage in meaningful diplomacy to produce a just and durable peace. However, the American official noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin showed no interest in peace talks.
The secretary of state added that he was urging Russia to reverse an irresponsible decision and go back to participating in the New START nuclear treaty. Blinken allegedly told Lavrov that both countries' interest was mutual compliance.
Diplomatic Discussions
The American official also raised the situation regarding Paul Whelan, the US citizen currently detained in Russia. The conversation was confirmed by Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who did not provide further details of the meeting, according to BBC.
Before the G20 Summit meeting, the last time Blinken and Lavorv met face to face was during an event in January 2022 in Geneva. On Thursday, the Russian foreign minister accused Western nations of attempting to influence neutral states to condemn Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
The US secretary of state said that he talked with top diplomats from other countries during the Delhi summit to shore up support for Ukraine. Blinken emphasized his condemnation of Russia to the United Nations Human Rights Council later that day.
Despite the meeting, Blinken said they had low expectations that it would lead to a breakthrough on several key issues. He added that he expected everything to stay the same regarding relations and other matters in the short term, said CNN.
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