Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s participation in the meeting of G20 foreign ministers is currently being worked out. This was stated by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova at a briefing, according to RIA Novosti.
According to her, the Russian side is currently preparing for the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. However, the dates of the meeting have changed: U.S. diplomats announced through their deputy sherpas that the event will take place on September 23–24 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Originally, the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Council was scheduled to take place on October 30–31 in Atlanta, Georgia.
On September 15, Lavrov announced his intention to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
The last meeting between Rubio and Lavrov took place in July. The two held talks on the sidelines of the ASEAN meetings in Manila, during which they discussed bilateral relations and the situation in Ukraine. According to a statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry following the talks, Lavrov briefed Rubio on the actual situation on the front lines, declared that arms deliveries to the Ukrainian Armed Forces were unacceptable, and described Europe’s policy as destabilizing. At the same time, he confirmed Russia’s readiness for a diplomatic settlement and reaffirmed its commitment to the proposals put forward at the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump in Anchorage.