US, EU assail Russia in rare meeting in Southeast Asia

The US and European Union’s top diplomats on Friday assailed Russia’s foreign minister as being negative and unconstructive in a rare sit-down appearance with him at a Southeast Asian gathering in Jakarta. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken seized on the two days of meetings to hold fresh talks with China on managing tensions, even as he sought to rally Southeast Asian nations against “coercion” by Beijing. Blinken made no such effort to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who spoke behind closed doors at a session that brought in global powers. Lavrov’s involvement was “not constructive or productive” and…