Baerbock calls for the end of the war

At the G20 meeting in New Delhi, Federal Foreign Minister Baerbock called on Russia to end its war of aggression against Ukraine. He turned directly to Foreign Minister Lavrov, who was present. According to sources in the delegation, he said word for word: “It is good that you are here in the hall to listen: Stop this war. Stop violating our international order. Stop bombing Ukrainian cities and civilians.”

At last year’s G20 meeting on the Indonesian island of Bali, Lavrov left the foreign ministers meeting early after his speech so he would not have to listen to the criticism himself. Baerbock also pointed out that there are different perspectives on the Ukraine war among G20 members. All one, however, that there is not a single place in the world where a Russian war has had positive consequences.

Lavrov called the sanctions arbitrary

Lavrov called Western sanctions against his country arbitrary and called for their lifting. Several bilateral talks took place on the sidelines of the G20 meeting, including between top Chinese and German diplomats. US Secretary of State Blinken also exchanged views with his Russian counterpart Lavrov. It was the first face-to-face meeting between the two politicians since Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine began more than a year ago.

Blinken emphasized that the US would support Ukraine in defense for as long as needed. Russian state media, citing the Foreign Ministry in Moscow, reported that the exchange of words was not about negotiations or meetings.

Additional information

This message was broadcast on Deutschlandfunk on March 2, 2023.