It is currently unclear when talks could take place, the Russian foreign minister told the G20 ministerial meeting in Bali.
Russia is ready to negotiate with Ukraine and Turkey on grain, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Bali.
At the moment it has not been clarified when talks could take place, he added.
At the same time, he dismissed what he called “frenzied” Western criticism of the war in Ukraine, scolding Russia’s opponents for missing an opportunity to address global economic issues.
“During the discussion, Western partners avoided following the mandate of the G20 to deal with issues of the global economy,” Lavrov noted.
The West’s conversation “turned almost immediately, as soon as they took the floor, to frenzied criticism of the Russian Federation in relation to the situation in Ukraine. ‘Aggressors’, ‘invaders’, ‘occupiers’ – we heard a lot of things today,” he noted.
Lavrov also stressed that Russia “will not run” behind the US for a meeting at the G20.
“We are not the ones who have abandoned contacts, the US is,” the Russian foreign minister underlined after his American counterpart refused to meet him on the sidelines of the G20 summit, adding: “We will not run after anyone who proposes a meeting”.
Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed today that Lavrov will leave the G20 ministerial meeting in Bali early, skipping the meetings scheduled for this afternoon, as well as the official dinner tonight.
“Lavrov still has bilateral talks, after which he will address journalists and leave,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told dpa.
Indonesia today called on the world’s Group of 20 major economies to help end the war in Ukraine, as this meeting of G20 foreign ministers brings face-to-face some of the fiercest critics of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, led by of Russian diplomacy.
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