US Secretary of State Antony Blincoln is walking behind Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the G20 Foreign Affairs Summit held in New Delhi, India on the 2nd. New Delhi Associated Press
In the first face-to-face conversation between U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blincoln and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, he emphasized that “Western countries will support Ukraine” and said, “New Strategic Arms Reduction Agreement (New Start) Please come back again,” he urged.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Minister Blincoln had a 10-minute conversation with Minister Lavrov at the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the G20 held in New Delhi, the capital of India, on the 2nd (local time).
The two men lasted about 10 minutes in an unplanned conversation, according to a US government official, according to the WSJ.
According to officials, Secretary Blincoln told Minister Lavrov to return to New Start, which Russia declared an official suspension. The New Start Agreement, signed in 2010, aims to reduce the number of nuclear warheads deployed by the U.S. and Russia to less than 1,550 and not exceed 800 missiles and bombers, while allowing mutual inspection of nuclear facilities.
At this meeting, Minister Blincoln urged the release of US Navy Paul Whelan, who was arrested in Russia in December 2018 for spying and sentenced to 16 years in prison. He also emphasized that the United States and Western countries will continue to support Ukraine.
Regarding the meeting between the two, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that “the two ministers only talked while on the move” and did not hold negotiations or talks.
Minister Blincoln also asked Russia to extend the Black Sea Grain Agreement. Dubbed the ‘Black Sea Grain Initiative’, the agreement signed by Russia and Ukraine to guarantee grain exports through the Black Sea is due to expire on the 18th of this month.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Verbock also urged Lavrov to return to New Start. Then, Lavrov counterattacked by demanding an investigation into the North Stream gas pipeline explosion in September last year.
Russia has long insisted that the incident was not its own fault. At the same time, as an investigative journalist reported that the recent explosion was caused by a secret operation of the US government, it is turning the arrow against the United States. “Western ministers made the G20 meeting a laughing stock,” Lavrov said.
At the G20 plenary meeting held for two days from the previous day, it is known that agenda items such as food and energy security, counterterrorism response, and humanitarian aid were not discussed in depth.
Reporter Choi Young-kwon
