It was Sergei Lavrov’s brief visit to the G-20 foreign ministers meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali. In the morning he walked briskly from his armored Mercedes to the conference hotel, where he was greeted calmly but warmly by Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. At noon he said goodbye. Rows of journalists stood before Lavrov and Marsudi, whose jobs this Friday was not pleasant, two of whom were Germans shouting at the Russian foreign minister, “When are you going to end this war?” and “Why don’t you end the war?” As if it was his own decision.

Lavrov then sat among colleagues from Saudi Arabia and Mexico in the conference room at the “Your Majesty” Hotel and listened to the first speech. Nusa Dua is a protected settlement, anyone who wants to enter must go through various security checks. As could be heard from the circle of delegates, tension could also be felt outside the hall.

In addition to the large conference rooms, there are also smaller halls at the hotels gathered in Nusa Dua, where individual working groups convene for such meetings – or ministers gather for in-person consultations. But US Secretary of State Tony Blinken, like his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock, has made clear he would not be prepared to hold such talks with Lavrov as long as Russia continues its war.

Baerbock prepared a statement to journalists traveling with him that evening, immediately after landing after an 18-hour flight: “It is important that Russia does not leave the stage here.” And further on: “If a country attacks the international order and thus also the countries that are also sitting at this table, we can’t just turn to fun socializing, to nice dinners.” Some officials did not want a photo of the handshake and refused the meeting. Others, including hosts Indonesia, wanted to sit down with Lavrov.

Lavrov avoids listening to Baerbock speech

According to delegation circles, Lavrov left the meeting room immediately after his speech. In doing so, he especially avoided Baerbock’s answer, as the incumbent chairman of the G-7 group, he was the next speaker on the list. In his speech, Lavrov pointed to the West’s “wild” criticism of the war in Ukraine and railed against Russia’s opponents for wasting an opportunity: “During the discussions, Western partners avoided following the mandate of the G20 and to deal with world economic problems,” Lavrov said. Western discussions “immediately moved, as soon as they took to the floor, to the fierce criticism of the Russian Federation in relation to the situation in Ukraine. ‘Aggressors’, ‘invaders’, ‘invaders’ – today we hear a lot ,” Lavrov said.

On top of all this excitement was the news that former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead at a campaign rally, prompting Tony Blinken to deliver a brief condolence speech before anyone else made a statement.

However, emotions were not so high among all participants. The meeting of foreign ministers of China and India dominates Indian news. The two countries are locked in a border conflict in the Himalayas, which many foreign ministers from the Global South consider more threatening than the war in Ukraine. The Reuters headline was that China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Thursday that “the two countries have effectively managed and controlled their differences.”

After Lavrov withdrew from the discussion in the room, Jaishankar tweeted a photo of himself walking along the polished stone floor with his Russian counterpart, noting that they had discussed “topics of common interest. Also exchanged views on regional and international issues.” Including the Ukraine conflict and Afghanistan.”

India and other G-20 member countries have been severely affected by the hunger crisis caused by the so-called conflict. India announced on Friday that the export ban will affect other wheat products that can be traded past the previous ban.

The fact that Lavrov left without hearing Baerbock’s speech can be seen as his victory, because the German foreign minister did not allow him to go on stage. Or as Lavrov’s victory, because he got rid of his statement – without listening to their answers.