Blinken: Modi is right that there are challenges to multilateralism

By Sahil Pandey And Sneha
New Delhi [India], March 2 (ANI): United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is right that there are real challenges to multilateralism and he added that they are directly coming from Russia.
While addressing a presser here, Blinken said that PM Modi was right that there were challenges to multilateralism. He blamed Russia for creating problems. He pointed out, "We see that playing out at the UN, two countries blocking..."
"PM Modi is right that there are challenges to the multilateral system. And those challenges in many ways are coming directly from Russia which is violating the principles that lie at the heart of that system," said secretary Blinken.
Earlier today, PM Modi said while addressing Foreign Ministers at G20 that Multilateralism is in crisis today and global governance has failed in its mandate and its consequences are faced most by the developing countries.
US Secretary of State touched upon Ukraine Russia war and said, "Every country continues to bear the cost of Russia's aggression; a war that President Putin can end tomorrow if he chooses to do so. We worked hard to prevent it."
Although Blinken urged to end the war of aggression and engage in meaningful diplomacy that can produce just endurable peace, the United States stands ready to support Ukraine through diplomacy.
While addressing the presser, Blinken confirmed that he had a brief conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and also talked about the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treat) nuclear arms reduction treaty.
"I urged Russia to reverse its irresponsible decision and return to implementing the New START, which places verifiable limits on the nuclear arsenals of the United States and the Russian Federation. Mutual compliance is in the interest of both our countries. It's also what people around the world expect from us as nuclear powers," Blinken said.
"I told the foreign minister that no matter what else is happening in the world or in our relationship, the United States will always be ready to engage and act on strategic arms control, just as the United States and the Soviet Union did even at the height of the Cold War," he added.
The meeting was the first face-to-face meeting between the two foreign ministers since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began over a year ago and which triggered a rift between US-led Western countries and Russia.
He said that every country continues to bear the cost of Russia's aggression. (ANI)