On March 2, the plenary session of the foreign ministers of the G20 member states began. Lavrov of the Russian Federation also arrived in India. Reuters said that the visit of the Russian Minister was not in vain. For the first time since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Lavrov spoke with Anthony Blinken. Such conversations show that the Kremlin is no longer so aggressive and ready to hear other sides.
During the meeting, the politicians touched upon recent statements of the Russian government. Blinken asked the Russian minister to rescind the suspension of participation in the Strategic Offensive Arms Treaty. According to public sources, the interview in India lasted 10 minutes. But during this time, the US Secretary of State entered another equally important issue – the war in Ukraine. Russia once again heard the call to withdraw its troops from an independent foreign state.
"I told the foreign minister what I and many others said at the United Nations last week and what many G20 foreign ministers said today: end this war of aggression, engage in meaningful diplomacy, which could lead to a just and lasting peace," said Anthony Blinken about dialogue.
Before that, Spiegel Spiegel reported that Lavrov was not allowed to attend the Geneva conference. The reason is the sanctions because of the Russian war in Ukraine. Switzerland, following the sanctions, did not release a Russian plane into its airspace. Therefore, Lavrov spoke to world leaders online. However, at the initiative of Germany, during the video address of the head of the ministry of foreign affairs of Russia, all conference participants left the hall.
