Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov in Bali on Thursday (7), on the eve of a G20 ministerial meeting specially devoted to the war in Ukraine.
The two ministers met and shook hands, according to images released direct from this Indonesian island that hosts tomorrow, Friday (8), representatives of the 20 largest world economies.
Both stressed the importance of the G20 and addressed what Moscow presents as the “special military operation” in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“The two sides highlighted the unacceptable character of the adopted unilateral sanctions, circumventing the UN,” the Russian ministry added.
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Beijing has maintained good relations with Moscow since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine in February this year, despite the efforts of Western countries to isolate Vladimir Putin’s government, politically and economically.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to attend the G20 meeting on Friday and will meet with Wang Yi on Saturday (9). He intends to ignore his Russian counterpart, although both will be attending the same event for the first time since the start of the war.
Blinken last saw Lavrov in Geneva in January. There was another meeting scheduled for February, but it was canceled due to the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine.
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At the G20 ministerial meeting, a prelude to the G20 heads of state summit in November, Washington will advocate maximum isolation of Russia on the international stage.
