By Simon Lewis
TASHKENT (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that he has no plans to meet either the foreign ministers of Russia or of China during the Group of 20 (G20) meeting in New Delhi.
Blinken was on a brief tour of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and will head to the Indian capital for the G20 meeting, where Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine will be an important part of discussions.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang are attending the meeting.
“No plans to see either (China or Russia’s foreign ministers) at the G20, although I suspect that we will certainly be in group sessions of one kind or another together,” Blinken told reporters in the Uzbek capital.
A Russian foreign ministry official said Lavrov was aiming to meet at least seven foreign ministers before India hosts a welcome dinner on Wednesday for delegates from 40 countries. The main G20 meetings will be held on Thursday.
During his trip to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Blinken met with counterparts from all five Central Asian countries that used to be ruled from Moscow and have strong trade links with Beijing, ahead of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting.
The United States is engaged in continuous diplomatic activity to rally the world to oppose Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that began more than a year ago.
(This story has been refiled to correct the typographical error in paragraph 4)
(Reporting by Simon Lewis, writing by Sudipto Ganguly; editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Chizu Nomiyama)
