Canada's Foreign Minister Accused Lavrov of Waging War Against Ukraine and Abducting Children

During the G20 meeting in the U.S., Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand criticized Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov over Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and its crimes. In particular, she highlighted the abduction of Ukrainian children and Russian attacks on ships in the Black Sea.

Anand had also previously refused to be photographed with Lavrov during a meeting of G20 representatives.

“During the meeting, I sat across from Lavrov and, looking him in the eye, told him how outrageous and illegal Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine, the abduction of Ukrainian children, and the shelling of ships carrying food and fertilizer in the Black Sea are,” Anand said.

She also explained why she did not participate in the group photo of the meeting’s participants. She arrived in the U.S. after the group photo had already been scheduled; however, she said that even if the schedule had been different, she would not have wanted to be in the same photo as Lavrov.

In addition, the minister noted that during his speech, the Russian diplomat voiced many “Kremlin talking points” which, in her assessment, have nothing to do with the truth. 

Anand spoke about this in an interview with CBS. 

Lavrov did not demonstrate Russia’s readiness for peace talks on Ukraine, according to Kallas.

Russia does not support a ceasefire in Ukraine because the Kremlin fears that a pause in hostilities would allow the Ukrainian side to regroup. This was stated on October 30 by Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

Lavrov stated that the war against Ukraine will continue and may intensify.