Ukraine tensions at the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting

The G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting held in India was marked by Russia's attempt to attack Ukraine. The United States and Russia accused each other of shadowing the meeting.

Russia's invasion attempt on Ukraine left its mark on the Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in New Delhi, the capital of India. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the meeting was overshadowed by Russia's war against Ukraine. "Unfortunately, this meeting was marred by Russia's baseless and unjust war against Ukraine, its deliberate destruction of civilian targets and its attack against the basic principles of the UN," Blinken said. "This is what the world needs and expects," he said. "In the name of international peace and economic stability, we must continue to call on Russia to aggressively end its war and withdraw from Ukraine," Blinken said.

Lavrov blamed the West

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made accusations against western countries. Lavrov stated that some Western delegations turned the G20 agenda into "comedy" by blaming Russia for their failures in the economy. Making statements regarding the Black Sea Grain Corridor Initiative, Lavrov said, "Even though EU representatives claim otherwise, it creates obstacles for Western Russia's exports of agricultural products."

Cooperation message from Russia and China

On the other hand, Lavrov met with his Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang, on the sidelines of the G20 meeting. After the meeting, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the ministers agreed on interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, imposing unilateral approaches through blackmail and threats, and rejecting attempts to oppose the democratization of international relations. Lavrov and Qin also agreed to maintain mutual contacts to deepen bilateral relations.