U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken briefly met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the Group of Twenty (G20) Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in New Delhi, India, on the 2nd (local time). This was the first one-on-one meeting between the two foreign ministers since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year.
Major foreign media outlets including CNN reported, citing U.S. officials, that Blinken and Lavrov held a separate conversation for about 10 minutes that day. A source told CNN, "This face-to-face meeting was not previously scheduled," adding, "Secretary Blinken requested the meeting with Foreign Minister Lavrov first. It was not a negotiation or a formal meeting."
At the meeting, Secretary Blinken urged Russia to return to the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), a nuclear arms control agreement between the two countries. Signed in 2010, New START requires the U.S. and Russia to reduce their deployed nuclear warheads to no more than 1,550 each and their delivery systems to no more than 1,500 each, while allowing for periodic inspections of nuclear facilities by both sides. Earlier, President Vladimir Putin had announced the suspension of Russia's participation in New START during his first state of the nation address after the outbreak of the war.
Additionally, Secretary Blinken conveyed that the U.S. and its allies will continue to support Ukraine as much as necessary. This reaffirmed the stance of not backing down amid the prolonged Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Furthermore, Blinken demanded the release of former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who is currently serving a prison sentence in Russia on espionage charges. Whelan, a former Marine and corporate security director, was arrested in Russia in 2020 and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Initially, it was expected that he would be released alongside WNBA star Brittney Griner at the end of last year, but Russia reportedly rejected the U.S. proposal due to the espionage charges.
In a subsequent press conference, Secretary Blinken confirmed the conversation with Foreign Minister Lavrov, stating, "I urged engagement in meaningful diplomacy to end the war and create a just and sustainable peace." He emphasized, "Russia must return to New START," adding, "Mutual compliance benefits both countries. This is also what the world expects from us as nuclear powers." He also warned of the possibility of Chinese involvement, saying, "If China provides lethal weapons to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, it would be a serious problem."
The Russian Foreign Ministry also confirmed that the two ministers held a brief conversation at Blinken's request that day. However, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova dismissed it, saying, "It was neither a meeting nor a conference."
The last face-to-face meeting between Blinken and Lavrov was in January last year in Geneva, Switzerland. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, communication has been limited to phone calls. Even at the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Bali, Indonesia, in July last year, a bilateral meeting did not materialize. Prior to this G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, Blinken had stated that no bilateral meetings were planned with Russia or China.
The G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, which concluded that day, failed to adopt a joint communiqu? as expected due to conflicts over the Ukraine war issue. Russia and China opposed, calling it "an attempt to interfere in other countries' internal affairs." As a result, the host country India issued only a chair's statement summarizing the overall content of the meeting.
During key sessions of the meeting, Secretary Blinken strongly criticized Russia, saying, "Unfortunately, this meeting was once again marred by Russia's unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine, deliberate attacks targeting civilians, and violations of the core principles of the UN Charter." He emphasized, "We must continue to demand that Russia end its aggression and withdraw from Ukraine for international peace and economic stability."
Meanwhile, Russia continues to strengthen its close ties with China. Foreign Minister Lavrov held talks with Qin Gang, China's Foreign Minister, on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated in a release that "the two ministers discussed China's position on the political resolution of the Ukraine situation as well as the current situation related to Ukraine," adding, "Several other international issues were also discussed." Last month, on the 22nd, Lavrov also met with Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, during Wang's visit to Moscow.
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