NUSA DUA, Indonesia — He was like a skunk at the tropical resort party, shunned by many, but not all.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov attended a meeting of finance ministers of the Group of 20 industrialized countries on Friday in Bali, despite his country’s pariah status in Europe and elsewhere because of the brutal war in Ukraine. His neighbor’s invasion of his country sparked two central topics of discussion at the annual event: global disruptions to food and energy supplies.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken refused to meet Mr. Lavrov, as did several other Western foreign ministers. So many attendees refused to pose with Moscow’s top diplomat that a customary group photo was cancelled.
But in a reflection of why Russia continues to be able to do business with the outside world and fund its ruthless war machine, Mr Lavrov sat down with several ministers from countries that have refused to join the West-led coalition against his country. Close. Among them were diplomats from China, India, Brazil, Turkey, Argentina and Indonesia.
Mr Lavrov’s activities were one of many dramatic storylines at a gathering of the group of 20, which was also overshadowed by Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement on Thursday that he plans to resign, and the Friday assassination of Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, an act Mr Blinken called “shocking” and “a loss to the world”.
The meeting ended without a traditional joint communiqué expressing common goals, an impossible feat considering Russia would have had to sign such a document.
Mr Blinken indirectly targeted his Russian colleague in a plenary session focused on food and energy insecurity, renewing Western accusations that the Russian blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports is preventing the export of grain and other agricultural products, leading to shortages and rising prices worldwide.
“To our Russian colleagues: Ukraine is not your country,” said Mr Blinken. “The grain is not your grain. Why are you blocking the ports? You have to leave the grain out.’ He noted that the United States had pledged more than $5 billion to address the problem, while Russia provided less than 0.02 percent of all donations to the United Nations’ World Food Program.
Mr. Lavrov, however, did not listen. He had only briefly appeared at the hearing and delegated Russia’s official speaking role to an unprepared subordinate, according to a Western official who was in the room.
Understanding the war between Russia and Ukraine better
Previously, mr. Lavrov eloped from a group session during sharp remarks about Ukraine by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, according to Western officials.
In comments to reporters later, the wry Russian diplomat was anything but intimidated, insisting that he enjoyed the moral high.
Mr Lavrov said “blatant Russophobia” led Western countries to persecute Russia, and that their sanctions were doing additional damage to the global economy. He said the United States and other Western countries prioritized damage to Russia over the G20’s mission to promote global economic health.
“The fact that they are not using the G20 for the purpose for which it was created is clear,” he said.
Mr Lavrov seemed to dismiss a proposal to create a naval corridor for Ukraine’s grain exports as a NATO plot to bring its warships into the Black Sea. And he dismissed any idea that he was disappointed not to have contact with Mr. Blinken, whom he last spoke to at a mid-January meeting in Geneva, which US officials saw as a last-ditch effort to avert an invasion. . The Ministry of Finance imposed sanctions on Mr Lavrov a few weeks later, calling him “directly responsible” for the February 24 military raid.
“It was not us who gave up all contacts, it was the United States,” Mr Lavrov said on Friday. “And we don’t run after someone who proposes meetings. If they don’t want to talk, that’s their choice.”
Mr Lavrov also took the opportunity to discredit Mr Johnson a day after he said he would step aside for a new leader. Mr Johnson had led one of the West’s most aggressive responses to the Russian invasion, strongly supporting the Ukrainian government.
“They were trying to establish this new alliance – the UK, the Baltics, Poland and Ukraine,” said Lavrov, calling it an effort to create “an English beachhead on the continent” after Britain’s exit from the European Union. Union.
“They said NATO isolated Russia,” said Mr Lavrov. “It was his party that isolated Boris Johnson.”
News of Mr Johnson’s planned resignation prompted his Foreign Secretary and potential successor, Liz Truss, to return to London and miss Friday’s programme.
While Mr Lavrov’s mockery of Mr Johnson and the West was not supported by other attendees, it was clear that US and European views on Russia and Ukraine did not represent a consensus among ministers in Bali.
In his opening address as host of the event, Indonesia’s foreign minister deviated from Western rhetoric when he said growing food and energy disruptions make it the world’s responsibility to end the war as soon as possible and settle our differences at the negotiating table, not on the battlefield. US and European officials have generally tried to avoid the impression that Ukraine is being pressured into peace talks with Mr Putin, whom they doubt he would negotiate in good faith.
While Mr Lavrov may not be allowed to travel to the US and the European Union, he moved freely through the luxury hotel that hosted the meeting in Bali, which opened on Thursday.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who was strolling through the hotel lobby and talking to Mr Lavrov, said on Twitter that he and Mr Lavrov “exchanged views” on issues such as “the conflict in Ukraine” and Afghanistan. India has friendly relations with Moscow, a longtime patron and source of arms sales. It has also helped Russia weather sanctions by increasing its purchases of Russian oil, taking advantage of a significant discount offered by Moscow.
U.S. officials are frustrated by those purchases and have sought to move India away from Moscow’s influence and abandon its neutral stance on the war in Ukraine. But in his comments before meeting Mr. Jaishankar, Mr. Blinken took an entirely positive note, calling India “a great partner for the United States” on a number of points.
Mr Blinken is likely to solicit economic support for Russia at a scheduled meeting here on Saturday with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Like India, China has increased its purchases of discounted Russian crude, allowing Mr Putin to retain significant oil revenues despite punitive sanctions.
But US officials said Mr. Blinken, that Mr. Wang has not seen since October, will also emphasize the importance of maintaining open communication with Beijing and cooperation in areas of mutual interest such as climate and global health.
At the end of his day on Friday, Mr. Blinken, along with the foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea, expressed his shock at the assassination of Mr. Abe, which he called “extremely disturbing.”
“To the United States, Prime Minister Abe was an extraordinary partner and someone who was clearly a great leader to Japan, the Japanese people, but also so admired as a world leader and someone who, during his tenure, really strengthened the relationship between our country, the United States and the United States. Japan to new heights,” he said.