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Lavrov dismisses West's 'frenzied' criticism at G20
"During the discussion, Western partners avoided following the mandate of the G20, from dealing with issues of the world economy," Lavrov said.
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Russian's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a meeting at the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on July 8, 2022.
(AFP/Stefani Reynolds)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday dismissed the what he cast as the West's "frenzied" criticism of the war in Ukraine at a G20 meeting, scolding Russia's rivals for scuppering a chance to tackle global economic issues.
"During the discussion, Western partners avoided following the mandate of the G20, from dealing with issues of the world economy," Lavrov said.
He said the West's discussion "strayed almost immediately, as soon as they took the floor, to the frenzied criticism of the Russian Federation in connection with the situation in Ukraine. 'Aggressors', 'invaders', 'occupiers' - we heard a lot of things today," Lavrov said.
Indonesia urged the G20 on Friday to help end the war in Ukraine, as foreign ministers from the group met for a summit that has put some of the staunchest critics of Russia's invasion in the same room as Moscow's top diplomat.
Lavrov added that Russia is ready to negotiate with Ukraine and Turkey about grain but it is unclear when such talks might take place.
Later, Lavrov was absent as his Ukrainian counterpart addressed G20 talks virtually, two diplomatic sources told AFP.
Moscow's top diplomat attended the morning sessions of the talks in Bali where the focus has been on Russia's invasion of its neighbour but he was not present as Dmytro Kuleba spoke in the afternoon to the gathering of foreign ministers, the sources said.
