United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized on Friday Russia and its Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's approach to dialogue at the ongoing Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, which both of them are attending.
Earlier in the day, European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell stated that Lavrov "very aggressively" responded to him when he urged Russia to pull back its troops from Ukraine. According to Borrell, Lavrov dismissed the conflict in Ukraine as a "West conspiracy." Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Lavrov does not plan to meet with Blinken during the summit.
In response to those occurrences, Blinken remarked on the sidelines of the event that Lavrov's presence there is not either "constructive or productive." He also noted that Russia's focus was "totally negative" and its approach based on blaming the US for "every problem in the world."
