Published on
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas accused Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of telling “a lot of lies” on topics including the war in Ukraine, during talks with G20 ministers in Atlanta on Friday.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
“We were talking about the big geopolitical crisis, including Ukraine, and we were able to address Sergei Lavrov head-on,” she told the AFP news agency.
“Of course, he put forward a lot of lies, a lot of false narratives” that the Europeans disputed, Kallas added.
European officials also reportedly used the opportunity to exert more pressure on Moscow as they sought a ceasefire in the Black Sea, provoking a reaction from Lavrov, a diplomatic source told AFP.
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said he had also told Lavrov in plenary that “he should have the courage to tell Putin that Russia will not win this war.”
The British minister also reportedly confronted Lavrov over a recent attack on a Dnipro railway that killed 15 people, emphasizing that Moscow was the “aggressor” in the conflict, which began in February 2022 when Russian forces launched their full-scale invasion.
At a press conference on Friday, Lavrov “welcomed” the United States’ willingness to engage in dialogue with Moscow, while castigating what he called an “arrogant boycott” of Europe.
“It’s a good lesson for our European colleagues,” he said of Washington’s approach.
Several officials at the meetings also reportedly refused to show up for a “family photo” with Lavrov, leading U.S. organizers to cancel the photo.
The G20 meetings come just days before key U.S. midterm elections, which will determine the balance of power in Congress for the final two years of President Donald Trump’s term.
US approves Patriots plan for Ukraine
On Friday, the US State Department announced that Washington had given the green light to a package of 500 Patriot PAC-3 interceptors worth $2.1 billion for Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continued to plead with his U.S. and European allies for more interceptors for his forces as Ukraine continues to resist Russian missile and drone attacks.
And while welcoming the new package and thanking the United States for its “firm decision”, he warned that delivery could take years.
“Five hundred PAC-3 interceptors is a substantial number, and very soon – this winter – they COULD constitute a very effective defense package,” Zelenskyy wrote in an article on X.
“However, it was stipulated that deliveries could only begin in a few years,” he added. “We are asking our American partners to find a solution at a time when there will be a real danger and a real need to use the PAC-3 interceptors.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Lavrov on the sidelines of the G20 in Atlanta.
Additional sources • AFP
Gn world
