There will be no meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a conference in North Macedonia this week, Russian news agency TASS reported on November 27, citing a comment by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. Washington has not requested a meeting "and there will be no meeting," Ryabkov was quoted as saying. Lavrov said earlier that he would take part in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meeting if Bulgaria opened its air space to the Russian delegation. He also said some Western countries had asked to meet him.
Russia Says There Will Be No Lavrov-Blinken Talks At OSCE Meeting This Week
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov move to their seats before a meeting in Geneva on January 21, 2022, almost a month before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.