Lavrov says he had 'not bad, though brief' talks with Rubio at G20 but sees no 'real progress' in US-Russia ties

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he held a “not bad, though brief, conversation” with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Atlanta, Anadolu Agency reported. Lavrov spoke at a news conference on Friday 30 October, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s transcript.

Lavrov said the two discussed bilateral relations and cooperation in multilateral bodies, including the UN, the G20 and APEC. He said Washington’s willingness to keep up dialogue with Moscow at various levels was welcome, and that the two countries should pursue projects where their interests coincide without letting disagreements turn into confrontation.

He defended a diesel fuel deal between Russia and the United States, saying Moscow had no restrictions on selling its energy, but acknowledged criticism of the deal in the US Congress and cautioned against seeing it as a breakthrough, noting that US sanctions on Russia remain in place. Lavrov criticised continued US military assistance and intelligence-sharing with Ukraine, saying: “Therefore, we do not see any real progress in practice.”

The State Department announced on Friday that it had approved a proposed $2.1 billion sale of Patriot air defence interceptors to Ukraine, AP reported.

Asked about a possible meeting of the Russian, US and Chinese leaders at the upcoming APEC summit in China, Lavrov said the idea was viewed positively in all three capitals and that China, as host, was handling arrangements, according to Anadolu. It is unclear whether President Vladimir Putin will accept Trump’s invitation to the G20 leaders’ summit near Miami in December, AP reported.