U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken walks to a gathering on the sideline of the G-20 overseas ministers’ assembly in New Delhi on March 2

Olivier Douliery/POOL/AFP by way of Getty Images

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Olivier Douliery/POOL/AFP by way of Getty Images

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken walks to a gathering on the sideline of the G-20 overseas ministers’ assembly in New Delhi on March 2

Olivier Douliery/POOL/AFP by way of Getty Images

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov met briefly on the sidelines of the G-20 overseas ministers assembly in India. It’s the primary face-to-face interplay between the international locations’ two prime diplomats since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Relations between the 2 international locations have collapsed over that struggle, with the U.S. slapping 1000’s of sanctions on Russia, whereas militarily, economically and diplomatically supporting Ukraine.

According to a senior State Department official, the assembly lasted lower than 10 minutes. The official stated that Blinken made three factors to his Russian counterpart: that U.S. help for Ukraine would proceed “for as long as it takes”; that Russia ought to rejoin the New START nuclear arms management treaty that it lately suspended participation from; and that he pressed Russia to launch Paul Whelan, an imprisoned U.S. citizen.

The U.S. lately introduced one other massive tranche of weapons to Ukraine, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who was lately in Ukraine, pledged extra U.S. financial assist.

Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended Russia’s participation within the New START treaty final month, shortly earlier than the 12 months mark of the invasion. It is the final remaining arms management treaty between the 2 nuclear powers.

The final time Blinken and Lavrov met was in Geneva in January 2022, within the month main as much as Russia’s invasion.

India, which holds the rotating chair of the G-20 this 12 months, has hoped the struggle in Ukraine is not going to dominate proceedings on the G-20 conferences and as an alternative desires it to concentrate on a number of the points extra pertinent to the Global South equivalent to local weather change, meals safety, inflation and debt reduction.