China's Wang meets Sergei Lavrov in Bali

BALI: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Bali Thursday to discuss Moscow s invasion of Ukraine ahead of a G20 ministerial meeting overshadowed by the war.

The pair were pictured holding a bilateral meeting on the Indonesian resort island as the world s top economies gather to discuss the most pressing global issues on Friday, with the Ukraine war at the top of the agenda.

Despite criticism, Beijing has upheld friendly ties with Russia as Western nations have sought to isolate President Vladimir Putin s government from the global financial and diplomatic order over the military assault on its neighbour.

Lavrov informed Wang “about the implementation of the main missions of the special military operation” in Ukraine and reiterated Moscow s rhetoric that its aim is to “denazify” the country, a Russian foreign ministry statement said.

“Both parties underlined the unacceptable nature of unilateral sanctions adopted by circumventing the UN.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Bali late on Thursday and will hold bilateral talks with Wang on Saturday.

But he will shun a direct meeting with his Russian counterpart even though they are set for their first showdown since the outbreak of war in February.

Blinken last saw Lavrov in January in Geneva, where the top US diplomat warned Russia of massive consequences if it went ahead and invaded Ukraine, which it did on February 24.

Washington has argued Russia should no longer be a member of the international forum, a position echoed by some Western allies.

The Russian foreign ministry said Lavrov and Wang stressed “the need for the maintenance and development of the G20” in their meeting.