U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Meet to Discuss Ukraine Conflict and Other Issues of Mutual Concern

The United States and Russia held their first high-level meeting in months on Thursday, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

During the brief discussion, which took place on the sidelines of the G-20 conference in New Delhi, a senior U.S. official said Blinken made three points to Lavrov. The first was that the U.S. would support Ukraine in the conflict for as long as it takes to bring the war to an end. The second was that Russia should reverse its decision to suspend participation in the New START nuclear treaty. The third was that the U.S. would continue to work with its allies to address Russia’s other destabilizing actions.

The meeting comes one year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which was marked by CBS News on Wednesday. In the year since, the conflict has continued to escalate, with both sides accusing the other of violations of the Minsk agreements.

The U.S. and Russia have been at odds for years, with tensions escalating in recent months over issues such as the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the SolarWinds cyberattack. Thursday’s meeting was seen as a sign of progress in the two countries’ relationship.

It is unclear what the outcome of the meeting between Blinken and Lavrov will be, but it is a positive step towards improving relations between the two countries. The U.S. and Russia will continue to work together to address the conflict in Ukraine and other issues of mutual concern.