NEW DELHI, March 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held here Thursday their first face-to-face interaction since the escalation of the Ukraine crisis over a year ago.
The brief encounter took place during the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in New Delhi under India's presidency. It lasted for about 10 minutes, said media reports on Friday.
"Lavrov spoke to him, standing, as part of the second session of the G20. No talks or real meeting took place," The Times of India quoted a Russian official as saying.
According to the U.S. Department of State, during the conversation, Blinken urged Russia to end the special military operation and engage in meaningful diplomacy, return to implementing New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, and release Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who is serving a prison sentence in Russia for espionage.
During a brief conversation with Blinken on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, Lavrov "in his usual manner, speaking in diplomatic language" deflected all calls from the American side, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told a local TV program on Thursday.
Zakharova denied on Friday the top Russian and U.S. diplomats' discussion about Whelan's swap, calling it a "lie" and the U.S. administration's behavior "unbelievable," according to TASS news agency. ■
