Two of
the world's most
powerful diplomats sat face to face
earlier on Thursday.
US Secretary of State
Antony Blinken and Russia's
Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov
met on the sidelines
of the G20 meeting in New Delhi.
A US official
says Blinken underscored U.S.
support for Ukraine
during the roughly ten minute
meeting in prepared remarks earlier,
Blinken said
the unprovoked invasion
had marred the G20
meeting of foreign ministers.
He called it
an attack on the core principles
of the United Nations charter.
Since Carney
Atwood joins us
from the US State Department
in Washington.
I can't even speak to your sources
about
what was discussed
in that remarkable 10 minutes.
Yeah, that's right.
So this was a meeting on the sidelines
of the G20
foreign ministers meeting in India.
As you said,
and there were essentially three things
that the Secretary of state addressed
with the Russian foreign minister.
First
was urging Russia
to come back into compliance
with New Start.
Of course,
that's a single
lasting arms
control treaty between the US and Russia
that Russia suspended
just earlier this year.
Second, he urged Russia
to release an American
who is wrongfully detained in Russia.
That's Paul Whalen.
And third, as you were saying
earlier there, he also reiterate did U.S.
support for Ukraine.
This is the first time
that these two men,
the top diplomats from the U.S.
and Russia, have met face to face
and had a conversation
Since before Russia's
invasion into Ukraine.
They last met in early 20, 22.
At that time,
the secretary of state
warned Lavrov about the consequences
that would occur if they did invade
Ukraine.
Obviously, they went ahead with that.
And we do know that
they had one conversation,
at least
over the course of the last year,
not in person, but by telephone.
That was this summer
when they were discussing negotiations
to release
Brittney Griner,
who was American
wrongfully detained in Russia
at the time.
But it's also significant, Max,
that they have actually been
in the same place
at the same time
over a number of times
over the course of the last year.
You know, in Bali
for another foreign ministers
meeting at the United Nations,
they've been in the same room.
They haven't had discussions.
So the fact that the secretary of state
approached the Russian foreign minister,
according to a senior State
Department official,
is pretty significant
because he clearly felt
that there were messages
that he wanted to portray in person Okay.
Thank you very much indeed,
working your sources on that.
Ukraine's military says
it's still holding its ground
in the city of banknotes,
but admits it's getting
increasingly difficult.
Ukrainian officials
report heavy
fighting on the outskirts of the city
and they suggest
Russian forces have advance
within the city itself
about 4500 civilians remain in the city.
As Russian troops
to close
in Ukraine
also reports
a series of Russian rocket attacks
on a multi-story apartment building
in the city of submarines here.
The attack killed at least three people.
Emergency crews
managed to rescue nine people, including
a pregnant woman
about five kilometers from park.
But as the town of Joseph HCR,
many Ukrainians fled there
to escape the fierce battles in modes.
However, the military fears,
if bad falls to CVR, will be next.
Alex Marquardt is there
This is the road
on the way to back mud
cars, military vehicles
bombing up and down this road, going to
and from the front.
You see this armored vehicle right here
the sign for victory.
There are still some people here,
not too many,
but some of these hardy residents
have stayed behind
This is the Shop of Sea views.
Who is here?
Grilling meats held shashlik.
He actually fled from back mount
two months ago
and has opened up the shop
selling basics like bananas, beetroot and
and candles.
There's another man who here
who we just met
whose daughter is still in back mud.
One of the thousands of people there
who have been asked to evacuate
but are still in the city.
Amid this incredible fighting,
you can see that
they put up wood there
too, to protect those windows.
So much destruction in this town.
We were just farther in
the center of town, is called it,
because if you are,
this is one town over from back
with a large group of people
at a bus stop
waiting for a water delivery.
That never came.
Every few moments
you can hear explosions, the sound of
what we believe
to be outgoing artillery fire.
Ukrainians firing at Russian positions.
We spoke with an older
woman named Valentina
who said that
there is so much flying over their heads
that she is scared all the time.
That they are so close
to the Russian positions.
That's more outgoing artillery fire.
They are so close
to the Russian positions
that they can walk there.
We also spoke
with some Ukrainian soldiers
like these ones
who man one of those artillery positions.
They told us that there has been no order
to pull back from back mount,
that there are fighting
because if they give up back mud,
then this town transfer,
this would be next.
And that is what everyone is thinking
now, that if
Russia were to take back mud,
that they would have another foothold
in this region
from which
to try to push farther
into eastern Ukraine.
Alex Marquardt, CNN, in if of air.