U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a brief encounter with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of a G-20 meeting in India, the first face-to-face meeting between the two diplomats since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
NEW DELHI — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a brief encounter with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of a G-20 meeting in India’s capital on Thursday in the first face-to-face meeting between the two diplomats since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.During the less-than-10-minute exchange, Blinken urged Russia to reverse its decision to suspend cooperation in the New START nuclear arms treaty and accept a U.S. proposal for the release of U.S.
Blinken also reaffirmed Washington’s support for Ukraine’s peace proposal that maintains the country’s territorial integrity, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive conversations. The official declined to discuss Lavrov’s response but said Washington did not suspect that Russia has changed its position about the war in Ukraine.“We always remain hopeful that the Russians will reverse their decision and be prepared to engage in a diplomatic process,” said the official. “I wouldn’t say that coming out of this encounter there was any expectation that things will change in the near term.
Blinken’s contacts with any Russian officials have been extremely rare since the start of the war. Last year, he spoke to Lavrov on the phone in a discussion primarily about the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner.
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