Blinken and Lavrov hold 'brief' meeting, first in-person since start of Ukraine war

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met briefly with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday (March 2) in New Delhi on the sidelines of the Group of 20 foreign ministers meeting, sources told WION. It was their first such encounter since the start of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Blinken reportedly told the Russian foreign minister that the US will support Ukraine "for as long as it takes". He alsourgedRussia to rejoin the New START nuclear arms control treaty that Russian President Vladimir Putin recently withdrew from.

Reports have mentioned that Washington pressed Moscow on Ukraine's situation in the brief meeting which lasted less than 10 minutes and urged Russia to engage with Ukraine based on demands put forward by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

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The meeting happened a day after Blinken said that he had no plans to meet his Russian or Chinese counterparts. It was also of huge significance as it happened amid several Western nations urged for peace initiatives. As quoted by news agencies, a senior US official said that Blinken wanted to "disabuse the Russians of any notion that our support might be wavering" on Ukraine.

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Blinken wanted to "send that message directly", the official said, further adding that we "always remain hopeful that the Russians will reverse their decision and be prepared to engage in a diplomatic process that can lead to a just and durable peace."

"But I wouldn't say that coming out of this encounter there was any expectation that things would change in the near term," the official added.

The meet will be seen as a significant diplomatic victory for Delhi since no such meeting took place at last year's G20 FMs meet.

India has been calling for dialogue anddiplomacy to resolve the conflict. Last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin andtold him that this is "not an era of war", a phrase that has since then been reiterated by several western world leaders.

"PM Modi was not just speaking about some isolated individual situation because the West is trying to divide the geopolitical picture. Mr Modi gave an assessment of the situation across the globe," Lavrov said while referring to PM Modi's opening remarks at G20 foreign ministers' meet.

Lavrov also lauded India's "responsible stand" on key global issues. He said, "Russia's relationship with India is described as a 'privileged strategic partnership'. This reflects the special character of the relationship. We appreciate the responsible stand India is taking on key global agendas."

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