Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday briefly talked with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in New Delhi on the sidelines of a G20 meeting, marking the first in-person meeting between the two diplomats since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The two diplomats spoke for less than 10 minutes, and there was no sign any breakthrough was made. According to Blinken’s account, he told Lavrov Russia should stop fighting in Ukraine and resume participation in New START, the last remaining arms control treaty between the two powers.
Blinken also said he discussed Paul Whelan, a former US Marine who was arrested on spying charges in Moscow in 2018 with a USB that contained classified information and was handed a 16-year sentence in 2020. He said the US has put forward a proposal to exchange Whelan and that Moscow should accept it.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the two diplomats held talks “on the go” and that it wasn’t long enough to be considered a negotiation. “Blinken asked for a contact with Lavrov. Sergey Viktorovich (Lavrov) had communication on the go during the second session. But there were no negotiations, no meeting or so on,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS.
In comments after the G20 meeting, Lavrov criticized Western countries that participated in the summit and only alluded to his talk with Blinken. “They decided not to communicate with us, this is their choice, although when our paths cross in the corridors and on the sidelines of events like the one today, not everyone manages to kind of turn away and run past,” he said.
The brief meeting marked only the second time Blinken spoke with Lavrov since the invasion. In July 2022, the two held a phone call, but Blinken said they only discussed a prisoner swap, not the war in Ukraine.
The two diplomats were talking in the months leading up to the invasion, but Blinken canceled a meeting with Lavrov right before it was launched in response to President Vladimir Putin recognizing the independence of the Donbas republics and announcing the deployment of “peacekeeping” troops there. After that, Blinken cut off contact with Lavrov until the July 2022 phone call.
This will later be construed as an olive branch brusquely dismissed by Lavrov.
Blinken bears tremendous responsibility for the quarter million dead bodies piled up so far in Ukraine. Why on earth did Blinken cut off contact with Lavrov? When talks stop, bodies pile up. However difficult it is, it is the JOB of of the Secretary of State to sit down and talk and work things out, and not to avoid it.
The job of a Straussian neo-liberal like Blinken is to lie, cheat, and steal. Certainly Lavrov knows this. That’s why he said years ago that the USA was not agreement capable.
“Blinken Briefly Meets With Lavrov on Sidelines of G-20 Summit in India”
What could beta soy boy Blinken say to a giant of a diplomat like Foreign Minister Lavrov other than his weepy lies.
“What could beta soy boy Blinken say to a giant of a diplomat like Foreign Minister Lavrov”
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e919ced6effd5e62432688a9b0a49d8b53ff63c7b1c984b6919a54b38f3c2c01.jpg
Maybe we should stop telling others what to do and start listening. Oh, my bad. That would be diplomatic.
That was a photo op, asked for by Blinken in order to pretend the US is interested in diplomacy. Then he issued some demands, the same as led us into deadlock, and walked away. That took 10 minutes.
Now we get days of talk about his diplomacy and diplomatic outreach. All lies.
Looks like it was the usual “demand” style of conversation from Blinken.
Our go to negotiating tactic.
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/war/is-zelensky-the-anti-christ/
Is Zelensky the Anti-Christ?
Is Biden the anti-Christ?
In other news, Garland, our AG, made an appearance in Ukraine. He barks about the “unprovoked” invasion by Russia, saying he will prosecute Russia for “war crimes”, while slow walking justice here. He is a studious man, I presume. So, he should read this: National Security Archive: https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2017-12-12/nato-expansion-what-gorbachev-heard-western-leaders-early Conveniently ignores history.
I’m waiting for the white house janitor to make a trip to Ukraine. He’ll hand Zelensky a mega roll of 2-ply toilet paper and tell him we have his back (pun intended) for as long as it takes.
😂
Nearly everyone else has been there.
I hope Lavrov busted a full fifth of vodka over Blinken’s pointy little head.
He problebly was begging Lavrov to provide a opening so U.S. can save face, but Lavrov saw that as a pause, it’s too little too late.