NEW DELHI (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke briefly Thursday at a G20 foreign ministers’ summit in India, the first high-level meeting between the two countries for months.
According to US officials, Blinken and Lavrov chatted for about 10 minutes on the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting in New Delhi. The brief encounter coincides with the cooling of relations between Washington and Moscow and rising tensions over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Blinken took the opportunity to make three points to Lavrov: that the United States will support Ukraine for as long as it takes to end the war, that Russia should reverse its decision to suspend its participation in the nuclear treaty New START, and that Moscow should release Paul Whelan, detained in the country, a senior US official has said.
The official, who spoke about the private conversation on condition of anonymity, declined to describe Lavrov’s response, but said Blinken did not feel Russia’s attitude would change anytime soon.