Bloomberg has learned about Macron and Lavrov's handshake at the G20 summit

French President Emmanuel Macron shook hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro. This was reported by Bloomberg on November 19.

According to the agency, Macron independently searched for Lavrov.

"Macron sought out Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and shook his hand at the G20 summit," the publication said.

The G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro takes place from November 18 to 19, Russia was represented by Lavrov. In the already adopted final declaration, the participants of the meeting welcomed all constructive initiatives to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.

Earlier, on November 18, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a press conference on the sidelines of the summit said the importance of negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. In turn, the Bloomberg agency reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intended to voice at the meeting an initiative to freeze the Ukrainian conflict along the front line.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Kiev amid Russia's special operation to protect Donbas, which was announced on February 24, 2022, after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.