UK Foreign Secretary tells Lavrov at G20 meeting that Russia will not win the war
At a G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta, US, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband addressed his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov directly and called Russia the aggressor. He said Putin is not winning the war in Ukraine and will not win it.
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband publicly confronted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Atlanta, in the United States, accusing Russia of aggression against Ukraine. The G20 is a forum of the world's largest economies, which also includes Russian representatives. The speech was reported by Sky News and the Ukrainian outlet European Pravda.
Miliband referred to an event from the previous day in Dnipro. According to him, Russian drones attacked a railway and killed 15 people. He added that there are countless similar examples of innocent civilians being killed during the war, and stressed that everyone knows who the aggressor is.
He also said Russia is not winning because of the courage of the Ukrainian people and the support of allies. In Miliband's words, Putin once thought he would win the war easily, but that will not happen. The minister said Lavrov should have the courage to tell Putin the truth: that he is not winning this war and will not win it.
The photo and other ministers' statements
The Atlanta meeting will not feature the customary group photograph of ministers. The Associated Press, citing two US officials, reported that the United States dropped plans for a joint photo with leading G20 diplomats after several Europeans refused to be photographed with Lavrov.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, commenting on the meeting, said Lavrov showed no readiness for peace talks. Poland's Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said he intends to pass a message to Lavrov urging him to end the war against Ukraine.
