No joint communique on Ukraine conflict due to rift between West, Russia

ALSO READ UN chief Antonio Guterres to appeal for 'massive support' for Pakistan UN chief Antonio Guterres says General Assembly debate must be about hope UN chief Antonio Guterres welcomes cease-fire announcement in Colombia UN chief Antonio Guterres calls for data-driven fight against terrorism UN chief Antonio Guterres on a two-day visit to flood-hit Pakistan. "With the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in New Delhi unable to come out with a joint communique due to the sharp rift between the West and Russia over the Ukraine conflict, a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said this is not a reflection on India's efforts as host but of the divisions" seen among countries in the international fora. The meeting was unable to come out with a joint communique due to a sharp rift between the West and Russia over the Ukraine conflict despite efforts by host India to bridge the differences. Blinken told a news conference in the Indian capital that Russia and China were the two countries that did not support a joint communique at the meeting. Dujarric was responding to a question on the conclusion of the G20 Foreign Ministers' meeting without a joint communiqu and Washington putting the blame for this on Moscow and Beijing. On the sidelines of the G20 meeting, Blinken and Lavrov spoke briefly face to face-for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine a year ago. In response to a question on how the Secretary-General sees the Blinken-Lavrov meeting, Dujarric said: On one hand we didn't see an agreement, joint agreement or joint statement, on the other hand, any opportunity for direct dialogue between the Russian Federation and the US is to be welcomed.