U.S., Canada see growing interest in Black Sea ceasefire as G20 talks wrap up — SkimNews
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- Marco Rubio said there is growing interest — 'if not momentum' — in partial deals halting attacks on grain ships and, in some cases, energy shipping in the Black Sea, arguing such a step 'doesn't solve the war' but addresses food and energy security.
- Rubio said the U.S. is reviewing proposals from Turkey and India to get grain shipments moving, even as Washington continues to press for a broader negotiated settlement of the war now in its fifth year.
- G20 foreign ministers ended their two-day meeting in Atlanta without a joint statement or agreement, exposing rifts over the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, with Sergey Lavrov's attendance over European and Canadian objections.
- Anita Anand said she confronted Lavrov over Russia's 2022 invasion, the stealing of Ukrainian children and the targeting of Ukrainian ships, calling all of it 'contrary to international law and international humanitarian law.'
- Canada has held significant, specific talks on a Black Sea ceasefire since the UN General Assembly in September, and Anand said Canada, Ukraine's foreign minister Andrii Sybiha and India discussed a moratorium on attacks on Ukraine's electrical grid and energy infrastructure before winter.
- Sergey Lavrov told reporters that Moscow's position on the war is unchanged and that Russia cannot accept Ukraine as a 'military threat to the lawful security interests of the Russian Federation.'
- Rubio said he spoke with Lavrov about a possible Trump-Putin meeting at next month's APEC, that there was no firm commitment for Putin to attend December's G20 leaders summit at Trump's Doral golf resort, and that he would not rule out inviting Zelensky.
Why it matters: India and Egypt pressed for a Black Sea ceasefire to protect their own ships and sailors, while Canada has negotiated since the UN General Assembly in September — and Russia has not shown willingness to move ahead. With Ukraine approaching winter, the grid and energy-infrastructure moratorium Anand calls urgent remains unaddressed.
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