Lavrov, who has served as President Vladimir Putin’s foreign minister since 2004, is due to represent Russia at the Sept. 9-10 meetof the Group of 20 countries.
Russia will block the final declaration of this month’s G20 summit unless it reflects Moscow’s position on Ukraine and other crises, leaving participants to issue a non-binding or partial communique, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.
Lavrov, who has served as President Vladimir Putin’s foreign minister since 2004, is due to represent Russia at the Sept. 9-10 meeting of the Group of 20 leading industrialised and developing countries in New Delhi.
Putin is not known to have travelled abroad since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him in March on suspicion of war crimes in Ukraine.
“There will be no general declaration on behalf of all members if our position is not reflected,” Lavrov told students at the prestigious Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
The Kremlin casts the Ukraine war, which began when Russia invaded in February 2022, as an existential battle with an arrogant West that Putin says wants to dismantle Russia and take control of its vast natural resources.