Blinken and Lavrov met for the first time since the beginning of the war in Ukraine

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on March 2 briefly discussed high-level talks between the two countries following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But there has been no sign of any movement towards easing tensions between the two countries. Writes about it AP News.

Photo: IStock

The brief meeting comes amid a sharp deterioration in relations between Washington and Moscow due to Russia's war with Ukraine and a sharp increase in tensions amid many disagreements, complaints and recriminations on issues ranging from arms control to embassy staffing and prisoners.

US officials said Blinken and Lavrov spoke for approximately 10 minutes on the sidelines of the G-20 foreign ministers' conference in New Delhi. But there was no sign of any progress, and the conference itself ended with the group unable to reach a consensus on the war in Ukraine.

However, given that relations may be at their lowest point since the Cuban Missile Crisis during the Cold War, the mere fact that these two dignitaries meet shows that, at least for now, communication lines are high between Washington and Moscow remain open.

At a press conference, Blinken said he told Lavrov that the US would continue to support Ukraine for as long as needed and would insist on ending the war on diplomatic terms that Kyiv agreed to.

“Stop this war of aggression and engage in meaningful diplomacy that can lead to a just and lasting peace,” Blinken told Lavrov and noted: “President Putin has shown no interest in engagement, saying there is nothing to even talk about until Ukraine agrees.” and I quote “to a new territorial reality.”

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Blinken called on Russia to reverse "its irresponsible decision and return" to participation in the new START nuclear treaty.

“Mutual compliance with the treaty is in the interests of both of our countries,” Blinken said referring to Lavrov and noted that “regardless of what happens in the world, the United States is always ready to participate and act in the field of strategic arms control, as the United States did and the Soviet Union even at the height of the Cold War.”

The United States Secretary of State urged Moscow to release the detained American Paul Whelan and noted that “the United States has made a serious proposal. Russia must accept it."

Earlier, Blinken said at the G-20 meeting that Russia's war with Ukraine cannot go unanswered:

"We must continue to call on Russia to end its war of aggression and withdraw from Ukrainian territory for the sake of international peace and economic stability."

He noted that on the anniversary of the invasion, 141 countries voted to condemn Russia at the UN.

However, several G-20 members, including host India, China and South Africa, opted to abstain on that vote, and despite urging senior Indian officials to move beyond their differences over Ukraine and reach consensus on other issues, ministers Foreign Affairs were unable to do so or agree on a final communiqué.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said there were "differences" on the issue of the war in Ukraine "which we cannot reconcile as different sides have different views."

“If we had a perfect match on all issues, it would be a collective statement,” Jaishankar said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier called on all members of the fractured G-20 to come to a consensus on issues of particular concern to poorer countries, even if the wider East-West divide over Ukraine cannot be bridged.

“We all have our own positions and views on how these tensions should be resolved,” Modi said. “We shouldn’t let problems we can’t solve together get in the way of the ones we can solve.”

China and Russia refused to sign the G-20 statement demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. The rest of the GXNUMX participants supported the final resolution of the summit calling for the "complete and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops from the country."

China and Russia objected to two paragraphs taken from a previous G-20 declaration in Bali last year. And Blinken lamented that "Russia and China were the only two countries that made it clear that they would not sign the text."

The paragraphs stated that the war in Ukraine was causing great human suffering, exacerbating the fragility of the global economy, the need to respect international law, and that "the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is unacceptable."

Despite failing to reach a full consensus, Blinken said it is positive that 18 out of 20 countries agreed to a statement calling for an end to the war and immediate steps to improve energy and food security, which have been hard hit by the conflict.

Lavrov, who did not mention talking to Blinken at a press conference after the G-20 meeting, told reporters that Moscow would continue to push for its actions in Ukraine. He brushed aside Western claims of Russia's isolation, saying "we don't feel isolated. It is the West that has isolated itself, and in the end it realizes it.”

He said Russia remains open to talks to end the conflict in Ukraine, but accused the West of effectively blocking such talks.

“We are called for negotiations, but I don’t remember our Western colleagues calling Ukraine for negotiations,” he noted. “They are calling on Ukraine to continue the war.”

Lavrov, among other things, ridiculed US threats against China, which presented a peace plan for Ukraine, which was approved by Moscow, but rejected by Washington and its Western allies.

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“Our Western colleagues lost their composure, forgot their manners and put diplomacy aside, switching exclusively to blackmail and threats,” he said.

Russia did not immediately comment on the substance of the conversation, but Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Blinken had requested a meeting with Lavrov.

It was their first contact since last summer, when Blinken spoke to Lavrov on the phone about the US offer to Russia to release Whelan and previously detained WNBA star Britney Greener. Griner was later released in exchange for imprisoned Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, but Whelan remains in Russian custody.

Whelan, a corporate security chief from Michigan, has been in custody for four years on espionage charges that his family and the US government say are unfounded.

His brother David said the family is grateful to Blinken for "seizing this important, rare opportunity to include Paul's freedom in his discussions with the Kremlin." But he noted that Paul Whelan will soon turn 53, and this is his fifth birthday in custody. He is being held in a prison in Mordovia in "sub-zero Celsius temperatures" with the heating turned off, David Whelan said.

Blinken and Lavrov last met in person in Geneva, Switzerland, in January 2022, on the eve of the Russian invasion. At that meeting, Blinken warned Lavrov of the consequences if Russia continued with the planned hostilities and attempted to respond to some of Russian President Vladimir Putin's grievances against the US and NATO.

Those talks proved inconclusive - Russia went ahead with its invasion plans, and Blinken then canceled a planned follow-up meeting with Lavrov, which was scheduled just two days after Moscow ended up invading Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

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