Anand says she called out Russian counterpart invited by U.S. to G20 ministerial

OTTAWA – Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says Russia should not have attended a G20 meeting the U.S. hosted on Friday, but she still used the opportunity to make a point to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

“I was sitting at a table directly across from Sergei Lavrov and I looked him in the eye,” she told The Canadian Press on Friday.

“I incontrovertibly stated that Russia has committed horrific crimes in its war against Ukraine, including devastating global energy and food supply chains.”

Anand attended a G20 meeting of foreign ministers in Atlanta on Friday. The American hosts took the unconventional step of cancelling the traditional photo of all attendees after European diplomats objected to being pictured with Lavrov.

Anand said her Russian counterpart responded to her comment.

“Lavrov, in return, tried Kremlin talking points, one of which was, ‘We don’t use energy to settle political scores.’ He accused the EU of slavery and piracy for seizing Russian vessels in the shadow fleet,” she said, referring to vessels that obscure their origin to export Russian oil.

U.S. President Donald Trump has pulled back support for Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s full-scale invasion. Trump signed a diesel deal that will give millions of dollars to Moscow’s war effort and Ukraine has reported problems with its access to vital American satellite technology.

Anand said she arrived in Atlanta after the “family photo” was set to occur, following meetings in Montreal with EU officials.

“I don’t want to have my picture taken with Sergei Lavrov, in any case,” she said, adding she also brought up Russia’s kidnapping of Ukrainian children and attacks on vessels in the Black Sea.

Lavrov suggested at a news conference that western countries are not serious about dialogue with Russia. 

“All they care about is having me in a photograph, and that’s it,” he said through an interpreter.

Anand said a major concern of nearly all G20 countries is maritime security. Russian strikes on Ukrainian grain vessels in the Black Sea are halting shipments developing countries rely on for food. Iran has drastically reduced shipping in the crucial Strait of Hormuz in response to the U.S. war on Tehran.

“The strength of the G20 is in finding the points of collective agreement,” Anand said.

“No one disagrees with the point that there should be freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, that there is a need to ensure safe passage of ships carrying fertilizer in the Black Sea … except Lavrov.”

She said she encouraged G20 nations to look to Canada for their energy needs.

Anand also said Canada opposes the U.S. excluding South Africa from the G20 meetings it is hosting this year. Washington has made false claims about a genocide targeting white South Africans.

“South Africa should be present,” she said. “Canada shares South Africa’s interest in preserving an effective, inclusive and functioning G20 that is capable of addressing global economic challenges.”

Canada and the European Union wrapped up a major summit in Montreal Friday, a day after the release of Canada’s first national security strategy in decades and ahead of next week’s Commonwealth summit.

“This is diplomacy in a very concentrated period of time, with much activity and wins for Canada on the global stage,” Anand said.

Anand will head to Antigua and Barbuda for the Commonwealth summit. Prime Minister Mark Carney will join the summit Monday.

“Canada supports a strong and credible Commonwealth mandate on democracy, including through the Commonwealth ministerial action group,” Anand said, referring to the body that takes up human rights issues.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2026.