Former State Department employees criticized Blinken for lack of contacts with Russia

The Washington Post recalled that since the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, Russian and US diplomats have not been in contact.

The head of the State Department also refrained from interacting with his Russian counterpart at the G20 meeting.

According to the publication, some "veterans of the foreign service" consider the lack of contacts with Russia a mistake, given the wide range of US interests.

“The first step is to open channels of communication through which you can find out what your opponent wants.

You won't know if you don't try," said Tom Shannon, a former State Department official with 30 years of government experience.

On July 7, Sergey Lavrov, during an official dinner party for G20 foreign ministers in Indonesia, held a series of bilateral contacts "and did not notice the absence, as it turns out, of boycotting," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is "making up stories" to justify the failure of his attempts to persuade other countries to isolate Russia.