Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is high on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s agenda as he meets other foreign ministers from the group of 20 largest economies, or G-20, this week. in Bali, Indonesia.
Before the first session of the meeting began, Blinken met with the foreign ministers of the Transatlantic Quad: French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, and Second Deputy Secretary British permanent and political director, Tim Barrow.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement Friday that they discussed joint efforts to provide Ukraine with additional security and humanitarian support and reviewed ways to address global food security concerns that have resulted from the deliberate attack of Russia to Ukrainian agriculture.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov walked out of G20 ministerial meetings twice on Friday: the first time when Baercock was speaking during the session on strengthening multilateralism, and the second time just before the foreign minister Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, will address the session via video link to speak on food and energy security.
In his comments, Blinken addressed Russia directly, saying: “To our Russian colleagues: Ukraine is not your country. His grain is not your grain. Why are they blocking the ports? They should let the grain out.”
Blinken, after meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, whose country will host the G-20 next year, said the organization “is a vital institution in trying to collectively address some of the most pressing problems and challenges significant issues facing the world”.
On Saturday, Blinken will participate in bilateral meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
“This is part of a series of ongoing, and I think important, conversations with our Chinese counterparts across the government to make sure we’re managing the relationship responsibly,” a senior State Department official said on Thursday. He added that the relationship has “different aspects, from the deep competition that is at the center (but also) elements of cooperation, and there are elements of contestation.”
Potential cooperation on climate change, global health, counternarcotics and the situation in Myanmar is on the agenda for meetings between top US and Chinese diplomats, said US Under Secretary of State Daniel Kritenbrink.
Blinken will have two lengthy meetings with Wang, the first session likely to focus on bilateral relations and the second on regional and international affairs, according to diplomatic sources.
Blinken’s meeting with China’s foreign minister would be his first in person since the US diplomat revealed the Biden administration’s strategy to outmaneuver the rival superpower.
In his remarks at the time, Blinken said the United States was not seeking to disengage from China and that the relationship between the world’s two largest economies was not a zero-sum game.
Russia’s participation in G-20 events has created tension within the group, which comprises the Group of Seven major industrialized economies, or G-7, and other large developing economies.
A formal meeting between Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Bali has not been scheduled. The United States does not rule out the possibility of a strike to protest Lavrov’s presence in the G-20.
Lavrov and Wang met Thursday before the ministerial meeting, Agence France-Presse reported. They were seen together at an island resort in Indonesia.
According to a Russian Foreign Ministry statement, Lavrov updated Wang “on the implementation of the main missions of the special military operation” in Ukraine and reiterated Moscow’s rhetoric that its goal is to “de-Nazify” the country.
After the G-20 ministerial meeting, Blinken will travel to Bangkok, where he is expected to discuss the situation in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
This week’s ministerial meeting will not produce an official document or communique, according to G-20 co-sherpa Dian Triansyah Djani.
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