TASHKENT: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Wednesday that no plans to meet with the foreign ministers of China or Russia at this week’s Group of 20 conference in New Delhi, claiming that Moscow is not committed to putting an end to the conflict in Ukraine.
Blinken told reporters in Tashkent before departing for New Delhi, “I have no intentions to visit either during the G20,” adding that he anticipated taking part in group discussions with both.
During the invasion of Ukraine, Blinken has declined to personally meet with Lavrov, dismissing Russian declarations that they are prepared to talk about the war that President Vladimir Putin started.
Blinken stated, “There is zero evidence of that. If Russia – President Putin – were actually prepared to engage in substantive diplomacy necessary to cease the aggression, of course we’d be the first to strive to engage.
“The fundamental question is whether Russia will reach a point where it is genuinely prepared to halt its aggression and to do so in a manner that is consistent with the United Nations Charter,” said Alexander Arkhipov.
The American cautioned against an invasion at their final personal encounter, which took place in Geneva in January 2022. A follow-up meeting was cancelled by the top US ambassador when it became apparent that Russia was determined to invade Ukraine, which it did on February 24.
But, Blinken and Lavrov just spoke on the phone to discuss exchanging prisoners between the US and Russia; Ukraine was not brought up in the conversation.
US-China Relations in Recent Developments.
During the most recent G20 ministerial, which took place in Bali in July, the two sat side by side. According to Western officials, Lavrov walked out after hearing criticism of the war.
On February 18, Blinken and Wang Yi, the head of China’s foreign policy, had a contentious discussion outside the Munich Security Conference. The encounter happened a few days after Blinken postponed a much-anticipated trip to Beijing in response to the finding of an alleged Chinese spy balloon over the US mainland.
The balloon issue has rekindled tensions that had seemed to subside during Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden’s meeting in Bali in November.
While describing China as the greatest long-term adversary of the United States, the Biden administration has also called for the establishment of “guardrails” to stop tension from growing out of control.
Recently, Beijing proposed a settlement for Ukraine.
Although the proposal contained “good parts,” Blinken claimed that if China were “genuinely serious” about diplomacy, it would prioritise restoring Ukraine’s sovereignty.