Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will travel to Atlanta this week to take part in a meeting of G20 foreign ministers, according to Russia's Foreign Ministry. The gathering is set for 30 and 31 October.
The announcement came from ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, as reported by the Russian outlet Interfax and relayed by European Pravda. Lavrov will head the Russian delegation at the talks, which come before the group's leaders' summit, where US President Donald Trump expects to speak with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Zakharova said the G20 is currently meeting under the American presidency. "The ministerial meeting in this format will take place from 30 to 31 October in the city of Atlanta in the US," she said.
She also said most organisational questions about the Russian delegation's stay in the United States had been settled only at the last minute. Zakharova suggested that not everyone in Washington welcomed the planned visit, pointing in particular to the handling of American visas for Russian delegates by the US Embassy in Moscow. In her words, "there was an impression" of reluctance on that front.
On the substance of the talks, Zakharova said participants are expected to hold a thorough discussion of a wide range of geopolitical challenges. These include conflicts and confrontational trends that, in her description, undermine the foundations of the global economy. She said the global economy remains the central topic, though it cannot be examined without analysing geopolitical developments, "including and primarily destructive ones".
Russia intends to use the meeting to promote its own ideas for strengthening the foundations of a multipolar world, Zakharova said. She described these as being based on the full set of principles of the United Nations Charter, respect for the sovereignty of countries, and the development of equal and mutually beneficial cooperation between them.
The visit unfolds against the backdrop of an invitation from Washington. The United States has asked Putin to attend the G20 summit in Miami in December, where he could meet Trump. The Kremlin said Russia was "grateful for and appreciates this invitation" and promised to decide later whether Putin will go.
On 17 October, Trump said he did not know whether Putin would attend. Five days later, on 22 October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine will be represented at the highest level at the Florida summit if Trump invites him.
