Secretary Of State Blinken Unexpectedly Meets With Russian Counterpart At G20 Meeting

Topline

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had an unscheduled meeting with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in New Delhi, multiple outlets report, as tensions escalate after President Joe Biden reinforced the country’s commitment to helping Ukraine in its fight against Moscow—which a State Department official suggested are unlikely to quiet down soon.

Key Facts

Blinken and Lavrov met for approximately 10 minutes at the G20 meeting, the Associated Press reports, after the secretary of state previously said Wednesday he had “no plans” to meet either Lavrov or his Chinese counterpart.

A senior State Department official told reporters Blinken said to Lavrov the U.S. would continue supporting Ukraine “for as long as it takes” and urged Russia to move toward a peace treaty, the AP and Bloomberg report, with the AP noting the secretary “disabused” Lavrov of the idea the U.S. would back down on its support of Kyiv.

It’s unclear how Lavrov responded, the AP reports, but the official noted Blinken “did not get the impression that there would be any change in Russia’s behavior in the near term.”

Blinken also urged Lavrov to have Russia rejoin the New START nuclear arms treaty after Russian President Vladimir Putin said February 21 he was suspending Russia’s involvement in it, and told Russia to release U.S. citizen Paul Whelan, who’s been imprisoned in Russia since 2018.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Blinken asked to meet with Lavrov, and that the two “conversed briefly” but “there were no negotiations,” according to Russia’s Interfax news agency.

It’s the first in-person meeting between the two since Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago, according to the New York Times, and was their first reported conversation since they spoke by phone in July about the release of Whelan and basketball player Brittney Griner, with Bloomberg noting Blinken has believed meeting with Lavrov “wouldn’t be productive.”

What To Watch For

The war in Ukraine continues with no end in sight, and Russia has launched a new military offensive in Ukraine as the war passed its one-year mark. That offensive has been characterized by experts as so far being more underwhelming than expected, however, and comes as the U.S. has reaffirmed its commitment to Ukraine through new military aid packages and sanctions against Russia to bolster Kyiv against Russia’s attacks.

Tangent

Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska suggested Thursday that the ongoing war and sanctions against Russia are taking a financial toll on Moscow, even as Lavrov reportedly insisted the country’s posture against Ukraine and the West will not be backing down. “There will be no money already next year” in Russia, Deripaska predicted at the Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum in Siberia, according to Bloomberg, saying Moscow was in need of foreign investors and had “already begun to shake us down” for money.

Key Background

The Biden Administration has reinforced its commitment to Ukraine over the past few weeks in recognition of the war’s one-year mark and ongoing fighting. Biden traveled to Ukraine personally on February 20 for an unannounced visit, in which he declared additional military aid and vowed the U.S. would continue its support for Ukraine “for as long as it takes.” The White House then marked the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion on February 24 with a new round of sanctions against Russia and additional military aid for Ukraine, as well as additional measures designed to hold Russia accountable for its actions. Biden took aim at Russia and Putin during his speech in Kyiv, escalating tensions with Moscow by saying the country was “failing” in the war, its economy was “now a backwater” and citizens were fleeing because “they see no future in their country.” Putin then criticized the U.S. and its Western allies in a speech a day later, saying Western leaders “intend to transform a local conflict into a phase of global confrontation” and Russia “will react accordingly.”

Further Reading

Live Updates: Blinken and Lavrov Meet For the First Time Since Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine (New York Times)

Blinken, Lavrov meet briefly as US-Russia tensions soar (Associated Press)

U.S. Delivers More Russia Sanctions 1 Year Into War—Here’s What You Need To Know (Forbes)

Biden Makes Surprise Visit To Kyiv Nearly A Year Into Russia’s Invasion (Forbes)

Biden Reportedly Plans $2 Billion Ukraine Aid Package Ahead Of Feared Russian Offensive (Forbes)

Putin Says He’ll Suspend Russia’s Involvement In Last Nuclear Treaty With U.S.—After Biden’s Visit To Kyiv (Forbes)