US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will discuss the war in Ukraine with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a G-20 meeting in Bali this week.

However, the Foreign Ministry in Washington categorically ruled out an appointment with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who is also traveling to the Indonesian island.

This is not the right time for such a conversation.

Lavrov himself announced during a stay in Vietnam on Wednesday that he would meet several foreign ministers in Indonesia.

“As for the (bilateral) meetings, there have been certain requests.

There will be a series of meetings," he said, according to the TASS news agency.

Till Fähnders

Political correspondent for Southeast Asia.

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The US warned that "business as usual" was not possible after the Russian attack on Ukraine.

However, they left open what exactly this means for the meeting of the foreign ministers of the most important industrial and emerging countries and the EU.

Thus, the conference on Thursday and Friday will be a test run for the G-20 summit in November.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced his intention to accept host Indonesia's invitation.

Indonesia also invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a guest in the fall.

Despite Russian promises, most countries want to take part, but at the same time express their protest against the Russian war of aggression.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will also attend the meeting in Bali.

Before leaving, she campaigned for a joint response to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

“We all have an interest in ensuring that international law is observed and respected.

That's the common denominator," she said on Wednesday in Berlin.

"And it is also the reason why we will not simply let Russia take the stage of the meeting." The minister also touched on the food and energy crisis, which will be the focus of attention in Bali.

Russia exploits dependencies and also uses starvation as a weapon to kill.

"People in Mali and Niger feel it just as much as they do in Lebanon, Argentina and India."

Despite this fact, among the G-20 there are some who have not clearly distanced themselves from Russia's aggression, including China.

The focus of the talks between Blinken and Wang - the first since October - is said to be the difficult relationship between the two powers.

It is about continuing communication with China and shaping competition between the United States and the People's Republic of China in a responsible manner, said the diplomat responsible for East Asia and the Pacific, Daniel Kritenbrink in Washington.