GERMAN Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock criticised Moscow for blocking dialogue with international partners after diplomats said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov walked out of her speech to a Group of 20 meeting today.

Speaking to German television from the G20 gathering in Bali, Baerbock said Lavrov “left the first session halfway through” and skipped a second session “which shows even more clearly that he’s not interested in international cooperation or dialogue with the other G19 partners”.

Diplomats said Lavrov left the room when Baerbock was criticising Moscow over the Ukraine war during the G20 session.

He later also ditched an afternoon session before a virtual appearance by Ukraine’s foreign minister and was not present as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned Russia in the closed-door meeting in Bali, the diplomats said.

“It underscores that the Russian government is not showing a millimetre of willingness to talk, particularly on the important question of how we will grapple with the global food crisis,” she said.

Baerbock said although the remaining 19 countries had differing views on “Russia’s war of aggression”, they were “very clear in appealing to Russia that this war must end”.

“The majority of the countries made clear that Russia has the responsibility to immediately stop the bombing,” she said. – AFP, July 8, 2022.