Poor old Sergei Lavrov left the G20 summit in Bali early Friday after Western leaders ignored him and refused to be pictured alongside him in a customary photo op as his country waged its brutal war on Ukraine. The Russian foreign minister had a torrid time on the Indonesian island this week, where diplomats also snubbed a dinner Thursday night because Lavrov would be attending. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was said to have led the “family photo” boycott, with other G7 colleagues joining Blinken in giving Lavrov the cold shoulder. It’s thought the photo op might go ahead without Lavrov following his departure Friday. “In terms of meeting with me, the declaration that they won’t be photographed with me—I never asked anyone to be photographed,” Lavrov insisted in a Friday interview with Russian state TV. “Yesterday, there was a reception that the Indonesians organized; it was sort of an introductory reception with a concert, and they [Western leaders] didn’t attend.”
