Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday dismissed what he cast as the West’s “frenzied” criticism of the war in Ukraine at a G20 meeting, scolding Russia’s rivals for scuppering a chance to tackle global economic issues.
“During the discussion, Western partners avoided following the mandate of the G20, from dealing with issues of the world economy,” Lavrov said. He said the West’s discussion “strayed almost immediately, as soon as they took the floor, to the frenzied criticism of the Russian Federation in connection with the situation in Ukraine. ‘Aggressors’, ‘invaders’, ‘occupiers’ — we heard a lot of things today,” Lavrov said.—Reuters