Russia, US exchange barbs in diplomatic clash day after run-in as Quad leaders discuss regional security

Diplomatic rhetoric between the US and Russia once again took place on Friday, a day after Foreign Minister Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov came face to face at the G-20 summit in India.

The main diplomats attended in person for the first time since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion more than a year ago, and the brief encounter did nothing to warm icy relations.

During a security conference in New Delhi with top Indo-Pacific allies India, Australia and Japan – a partnership dubbed the Quad – Blinken warned that standing up to Russia was more important than ever if international allies were to destroy the world. want to maintain peace in other areas of

This combination of photos shows Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, respectively, attend a G-20 foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi, Thursday, March 2, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)

G-20 run-in: Blinken sees Russia’s Lavrov in India for the first time since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine

“The principles underpinning the entire international system essential to trying to keep the peace, the stability resulting from two world wars, are being challenged, with Ukraine under attack,” he said on Friday. “If we allow Russia to do what it’s doing in Ukraine, it’s a message to aggressors everywhere that they might be able to get away with this too.”

Lavrov in turn accused the US of applying “double standards” by countering Russia’s actions in Ukraine and pointed to previous international operations the US had conducted in places such as Iraq, Libya and Yugoslavia, when it had cited a “threat to its national interest”. military intervention.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken walks past Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during the G-20 foreign ministers’ meeting at Top Center, New Delhi, Thursday, March 2, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)

Italian PM urges India to play central role in ending Russia, Ukraine war

India’s foreign minister expressed disappointment on Thursday after the G-20 summit was derailed by division over Russia’s war in Ukraine instead of focusing on issues affecting the global south such as climate change, food security and inflation. .

However, Blinken argued on Friday that forging alliances with “like-minded” nations was the only way to shore up defensive postures while simultaneously addressing the most pressing issues facing people today.

“I think that not only are we not distracted; on the contrary, we are more deeply engaged than ever before, and Quad is one of the most important vehicles for that engagement,” he told reporters with Quad colleagues.

From left to right, Foreign Minister Antony Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar attend a panel of Quad ministers at the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi, Friday, March 3, 2023. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP)

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Japan’s prime minister also issued a subtle warning to China when he said, “We have agreed that unilateral changes to the status quo with force such as [Russia’s war] Should not be allowed in the Indo-Pacific region.”

“We also agreed that this development makes it even more important to work towards realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters on Friday.

Reuters contributed to this report.