Russia ‘not constructive’ at Asean talks, US says, shows no change on Ukraine

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says his counterpart Sergey Lavrov focused on attacking Washington and ‘attributed every problem in the world’ to the US

The American diplomat also reiterated that the US was concerned by Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the South and East China Seas and on the Taiwan Strait

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Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attends the Asean Regional Forum in Jakarta, Indonesia on Friday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 1:53am, 15 Jul 2023Updated: 2:32am, 15 Jul 2023

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov had not been constructive during this week’s meeting between top diplomats from major powers and their Southeast Asian counterparts.

Speaking after the Asean Regional Forum – which involved the foreign ministers of Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states and key strategic partners such as China, the US, India and Russia – Blinken said Lavrov used his interventions to attack Washington.

The meeting in Jakarta marked only the second time Blinken and Lavrov have been in the same room since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine last year. They last saw each other in New Delhi in March, on the sidelines of a G20 meeting.

“He focused on the United States, unlike any other country, on a totally negative presentation agenda, in which he effectively attributed every problem in the world to the United States,” Blinken told reporters.

“I didn’t hear anything from Foreign Minister Lavrov that suggested any change in direction concerning what Russia is doing in Ukraine,” Blinken said.

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