The meeting of foreign ministers of the Group of 20 (G20) was once again overshadowed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Thursday, urging the bloc to appeal to Russia to withdraw its forces, Reuters reports.
"Unfortunately, this meeting was once again overshadowed by Russia's unprovoked and unjustified war against Ukraine, its deliberate campaign of destruction of civilian targets and its attack on the core principles of the UN Charter," a senior US diplomat told the group's foreign ministers, according to a prepared statement that he shared with reporters after Blinken spoke to them Thursday morning.
According to Blinken, the G20 should repeat the calls agreed by the leaders of most of the G20 countries in Bali in November for Russia to stop the war and withdraw from it for the sake of international peace and economic stability.
"Even when we unite in support of Ukraine, we remain focused and take the lead in solving global challenges. This is what the world needs and expects," he added.
Blinken said that Russia has not yet agreed to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which facilitates the export of Ukrainian agricultural products, which expires on March 18.
"It is very important that the G20 advocates the continuation and expansion of the (Black Sea) grain initiative to strengthen the food security of the most vulnerable," Blinken added.
The G20 meeting was followed by a series of bilateral meetings marred by differences over the war in Ukraine.
In particular, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Qin Gang from China came to Delhi for the meeting. A former Indian diplomat observed that India would have to "do something special" to get them to ignore their differences over the war.