U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have held against the odds a brief meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in India, a first since Russian forces invaded Ukraine just over a year ago.
The two ministers spoke for about ten minutes, according to State Department sources quoted by CNN, who attributed to Blinken the initiative of this meeting, with which Washington basically wanted to reiterate its support for Kiev.
Blinken explained at a press conference that during the face-to-face meeting, which the two parties had initially ruled out despite the coincidence of both ministers in New Delhi, he called for an end to the Russian offensive and the start of peace talks.
He also urged Russia to lift the suspension of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), an »irresponsible» decision in the words of the head of US diplomacy. Blinken recalled that this agreement stipulates »verifiable limits» for the two powers in terms of nuclear arsenal.
Mutual compliance is in the interest of both countries. It is also what the rest of the world expects from us,» added the secretary of state, who said he was ready to talk about arms control with Moscow »no matter what is happening in the world and in bilateral relations».
The spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, also confirmed that the initiative for the contact came from Blinken, although she made it clear that »there have been no negotiations» between the two ministers, reports the Interfax agency. Zakharova herself had hours before ruled out even the possibility of a conversation, alleging that the United States »advocates the escalation of conflicts all over the world».
The head of US diplomacy, for his part, had previously regretted that the meeting of G20 ministers was marred by Russia’s »unjustified war» and its »deliberate campaign of destruction against civilian targets» in Ukraine.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
