US, Russia envoys gather for G20 meeting
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The foreign ministers of the G20 countries are meeting together for talks on various issues in light of the latest round of tensions around the world.
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Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi delivers her speech during the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, July 8, 2022 (Reuters)
The Russian and US envoys gather on Friday for a Group of 20 foreign ministers meeting in Indonesia, with Jakarta's Foreign Minister underlining the importance of putting an end to the Ukraine war and resolving differences through negotiations.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived Thursday in Bali, Indonesia, for the G20 summit. This is the first time that leaders of countries from the collective West, which have made Russia a direct "threat" through NATO's strategic concept paper, meet with the Russian Foreign Minister following the start of the war in Ukraine.
Sitting at the same table with Russia, the United States sought support from the world's top economies to pressure Moscow over the Ukraine war. "It clearly cannot be business as usual when it comes to Russia's involvement and engagement in enterprises like the G20," a senior US official said ahead of the meeting.
"It is our responsibility to end the war sooner than later and settle our differences at the negotiating table, not the battlefield," Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said as Washington and the rest of the West arms Ukraine to the teeth in a bid to uphold the war.
Through the meeting, the G20 is looking to tackle the war's impact on food and energy security, as well as the global economy's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the catastrophes brought on by climate change.
The US will not be talking in good faith as it will be sitting at the table with Russia while the Biden administration accuses Moscow of causing a global food and energy crisis.
Russia has been accused by Western countries of obstructing grain shipments in Black Sea ports. Moscow asserts that Ukraine mined the ports, making shipments impossible.
The meeting on Friday is a prelude to the G20 summit that will take place at the level of the heads of state in Bali in November, which is meant to focus on the global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The hosts, however, made sure to please Ukraine, addressing US concerns about Lavrov attending in part by inviting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the November G20 summit and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to today's meeting.
In the wake of the talks on Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will also seek to reopen dialogue with Beijing during talks with his Chinese counterpart for the first time in months in light of the tensions between the two nations.
The talks will see Blinken and Wang addressing the tensions between the world's two largest economies, with a top US official for East Asia saying the two diplomats would discuss the "guardrails" of the competition while also discussing areas of cooperation.
