In brief
On Oct. 30, "Lavrov urged Japan to abandon an unfriendly policy toward Moscow and resume full‑scale dialogue" during the G20 foreign‑minister meeting in Atlanta. The call comes as Japan has joined Western sanctions against Russia for its Ukraine war. The meeting followed their last formal encounter in New York in September 2021, underscoring continued diplomatic tensions.
Lavrov met Motegi on the sidelines of a Group of 20 foreign‑minister gathering in Atlanta, U.S., on Friday, Oct. 30, and urged Tokyo to abandon an unfriendly stance toward Moscow and resume full‑scale bilateral dialogue. The request was conveyed by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Japan has participated in Western sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine since February 2022 and has intensified criticism of Moscow since the outbreak of the conflict. The policy shift demanded by Lavrov sits amid Japan’s broader alignment with the United Nations and the European Union in condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Prior to the Atlanta meeting, the two foreign ministers had not formally met for two and a half years. Their last encounter occurred in September 2021 on the sidelines of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. That meeting highlighted a slowly cooling relationship as both sides navigated the diplomatic fallout of the Ukraine war.
The G20 foreign‑minister meeting, a venue where leading global powers discuss economic and security matters, brought the issue to the forefront of the international agenda. Lavrov’s visit was the first time the Russian minister had approached the Japanese side during a G20 session, indicating a desire to use the platform for diplomatic outreach.
No response from Motegi was reported in the Xinhua report. The meeting did not yield an immediate shift in Japan’s sanctions policy, but it marked an escalation in Russian diplomatic efforts to open channels of communication with Tokyo. Analysts view the dialogue as a potential stepping stone toward de-escalation, though it remains contingent on Japan’s willingness to revise its stance on Moscow.
