Top US and Russian diplomats meets on sidelines of G20

• Antony Blinken and Sergey Lavrov met in New Delhi.
• To discuss Ukraine and Russia’s suspension of the New START nuclear weapons pact.
• The same official claimed that Blinken and Lavrov spoke for about 10 minutes.

The two men met in New Delhi on the fringes of the G20. The Russian foreign minister is Sergey Lavrov, according to a State Department official travelling with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The discussion takes place at a time when emotions are still high regarding Ukraine and Russia’s suspension of the New START nuclear weapons pact.

The same official claimed that Blinken and Lavrov spoke for about 10 minutes.

According to the source, Blinken emphasized American support for Ukraine and appealed for Russia to resume participation in New START and release Paul Whelan during the talk.

According to the source, this meeting was unscheduled, and Secretary Blinken approached Lavrov after the G20 foreign ministers meeting in New Delhi.

The meeting did indeed take place, according to Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Blinken asked for contact with Lavrov. On the go, as part of the second session of the twenty, Sergey Viktorovich (Lavrov) talked. There were no negotiations, meetings, etc,” she said.

Before the Russian invasion, Blinken and Lavrov last had face-to-face contact.

Blinken had already said that the conflict in Ukraine had “marred” a gathering of G20 finance ministers.

“Unfortunately, this meeting has again been marred by Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war against Ukraine, deliberate campaign of destruction against civilian targets, and its attack on the core principles of the UN Charter,” he said.

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