CNN: Top Russian and US officials have rare talk. Hear what happened

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for the first time since the war in Ukraine began more than a year ago. #CNN #News

Transcript

Two of the world’s most powerful diplomats sat face to face earlier on Thursday. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in New Delhi. A US official says Blinken underscored U.S. support for Ukraine during the roughly ten minute

Meeting in prepared remarks earlier, Blinken said the unprovoked invasion had marred the G20 meeting of foreign ministers. He called it an attack on the core principles of the United Nations charter. Since Carney Atwood joins us from the US State Department in Washington. I can’t even speak to your sources about what was discussed

In that remarkable 10 minutes. Yeah, that’s right. So this was a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers meeting in India. As you said, and there were essentially three things that the Secretary of state addressed with the Russian foreign minister. First was urging Russia to come back into compliance

With New Start. Of course, that’s a single lasting arms control treaty between the US and Russia that Russia suspended just earlier this year. Second, he urged Russia to release an American who is wrongfully detained in Russia. That’s Paul Whalen. And third, as you were saying earlier there, he also reiterate did U.S.

Support for Ukraine. This is the first time that these two men, the top diplomats from the U.S. and Russia, have met face to face and had a conversation Since before Russia’s invasion into Ukraine. They last met in early 20, 22. At that time, the secretary of state warned Lavrov about the consequences

That would occur if they did invade Ukraine. Obviously, they went ahead with that. And we do know that they had one conversation, at least over the course of the last year, not in person, but by telephone. That was this summer when they were discussing negotiations to release Brittney Griner, who was American

Wrongfully detained in Russia at the time. But it’s also significant, Max, that they have actually been in the same place at the same time over a number of times over the course of the last year. You know, in Bali for another foreign ministers meeting at the United Nations,

They’ve been in the same room. They haven’t had discussions. So the fact that the secretary of state approached the Russian foreign minister, according to a senior State Department official, is pretty significant because he clearly felt that there were messages that he wanted to portray in person Okay. Thank you very much indeed,

Working your sources on that. Ukraine’s military says it’s still holding its ground in the city of banknotes, but admits it’s getting increasingly difficult. Ukrainian officials report heavy fighting on the outskirts of the city and they suggest Russian forces have advance within the city itself about 4500 civilians remain in the city.

As Russian troops to close in Ukraine also reports a series of Russian rocket attacks on a multi-story apartment building in the city of submarines here. The attack killed at least three people. Emergency crews managed to rescue nine people, including a pregnant woman about five kilometers from park.

But as the town of Joseph HCR, many Ukrainians fled there to escape the fierce battles in modes. However, the military fears, if bad falls to CVR, will be next. Alex Marquardt is there This is the road on the way to back mud cars, military vehicles bombing up and down this road, going to

And from the front. You see this armored vehicle right here the sign for victory. There are still some people here, not too many, but some of these hardy residents have stayed behind This is the Shop of Sea views. Who is here? Grilling meats held shashlik. He actually fled from back mount

Two months ago and has opened up the shop selling basics like bananas, beetroot and and candles. There’s another man who here who we just met whose daughter is still in back mud. One of the thousands of people there who have been asked to evacuate but are still in the city.

Amid this incredible fighting, you can see that they put up wood there too, to protect those windows. So much destruction in this town. We were just farther in the center of town, is called it, because if you are, this is one town over from back with a large group of people

At a bus stop waiting for a water delivery. That never came. Every few moments you can hear explosions, the sound of what we believe to be outgoing artillery fire. Ukrainians firing at Russian positions. We spoke with an older woman named Valentina who said that there is so much flying over their heads

That she is scared all the time. That they are so close to the Russian positions. That’s more outgoing artillery fire. They are so close to the Russian positions that they can walk there. We also spoke with some Ukrainian soldiers like these ones who man one of those artillery positions.

They told us that there has been no order to pull back from back mount, that there are fighting because if they give up back mud, then this town transfer, this would be next. And that is what everyone is thinking now, that if Russia were to take back mud,

That they would have another foothold in this region from which to try to push farther into eastern Ukraine. Alex Marquardt, CNN, in if of air.

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