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BBC
- March 2 2023 20: 25
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Blinken met with Lavrov for 10 minutes on the sidelines of the summit. Senior State Department officials have said that Blinken told his Russian counterpart that the West would support Ukraine "as long as necessary." Blinken has also pressed Russia to return to the nuclear arms control treaty it recently withdrew from.
The top representatives of the United States of America and Russia clashed over Ukraine at the G-20 summit that started on Thursday in India. The host, India, has announced that the cause of the disputes will not have a joint statement.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the summit was marred by Russia's "unprovoked and unwarranted war". Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, has accused the West of "blackmail and threats".
India has announced that it wanted the countries' focus to be on other issues, but said differences over Ukraine could not be overcome.
"We tried, but the differences were too big," said India's Foreign Minister, J Jaishankar.
The G-20, which includes the 19 richest countries in the world plus the European Union, is responsible for 85 percent of the economic market and two-thirds of the population.
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Blinken-Lavrov clash for Ukraine
The group of foreign ministers - including Russian Lavrov, American Blinken and Chinese Qin Gang - have met in Delhi under the Indian presidency. It was the first meeting of the American and Russian chief diplomats since the war in Ukraine started a year ago.
Blinken met with Lavrov for 10 minutes on the sidelines of the summit. Senior State Department officials have said that Blinken told his Russian counterpart that the West would support Ukraine "as long as necessary." Blinken has also pressed Russia to return to the nuclear arms control treaty it recently withdrew from.
Russian officials have denied holding talks at this summit. Earlier on Thursday, Russia accused the West of violating an agreement allowing Ukrainian wheat to be exported - but the US responded by saying Moscow had blocked wheat exports.
Meanwhile, Russian officials have said that Moscow and Beijing have agreed to counter what they call Western blackmail and threats - although this has not been confirmed by China.
"We talk about behavior. Well, our Western counterparts have done very badly with this," Lavrov said after Thursday's talks. "They are no longer thinking about diplomacy, now they only deal with blackmail and threats to everyone else."
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had opened the session by talking about developing countries, saying that those present had a responsibility towards them.
It was a rare speech by Modi in the English language - a sign of how seriously he wanted his message to be taken. He made no direct reference to the war in Ukraine, but acknowledged that the discussions would be influenced by geopolitical tensions.
India's slogan for the G20 is "One Land, One Family, One Future". Modi urged the delegates to take it to heart and focus on the issues that unite them.
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G20 leaders reach consensus on the joint statement, significantly reduce the rhetoric about Russia
Ahead of the talks, a former Indian diplomat told the BBC that India would have to "do something special" to persuade delegates to put aside their differences over the war.
Translated by: Gent Mehmeti
