G20 Foreign Ministers Urged to ‘Find a Way Forward’ on Ukraine, Food

Lavrov was not in the room when Blinken spoke.

Blinken, after meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, whose country will host the G-20 next year, said the organization “is a vital institution for trying to deal collectively with some of the most significant problems and challenges that the world faces.”

Blinken said many of those challenges stem from the Russian war on Ukraine, and that others at the G-20 had expressed similar concerns.

“So, I think what we’ve heard today already, is a strong chorus from around the world - not just the United States, but around the world - about the need for the aggression to end so that we can actually focus on the challenges that are affecting people in their lives,” he said.

Blinken will participate in bilateral meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday, July 9.

Also read: Russia’s War in Ukraine High on Agenda of G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting

“This is part of an ongoing, and I think important, series of conversations with our Chinese counterparts across the government to make sure that we are responsibly managing the relationship,” a senior State Department official said Thursday, adding that the relationship has “different aspects to it, from profound competition being at the heart [but also] elements of cooperation, and there are elements of contestation.”

The agenda for the meetings between the top US and Chinese diplomats includes possible cooperation on climate change, global health, counter-narcotics, and the situation in Myanmar, said US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Kritenbrink.

Blinken will have two lengthy meetings with Wang, with the first session likely focusing on bilateral relations and the second focusing on regional and international issues, according to diplomatic sources.

Blinken’s meeting with the Chinese foreign minister will be their first in-person since the chief US diplomat unveiled the Biden administration’s strategy to outcompete the rival superpower.
This week’s ministerial will not produce an official document or communique, according to G-20 co-sherpa Dian Triansyah Djani.

Source: VOA