MOSCOW: The West failed to isolate Russia at the G20 summit over Moscow's military offensive in Ukraine, reports AFP.
The G-7's plan to boycott Russia at the G-20 has failed, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on messaging app Telegram.
What utter nonsense, Zakharova said.
She said Lavrov was in the room when the meeting began and about two hours later he began to hold bilateral talks with colleagues in the same forum in the next room.
She said other ministers were also in that room since face-to-face forums are held exactly for this purpose -- for meeting and contacts.
Diplomats said the Russian minister had also ditched an afternoon session before a virtual appearance by Ukraine's foreign minister and was not present as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned Russia in the closed-door meeting in Bali.