Scholz says he didn't shake Russian FM's hand

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he did not exchange a word with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov or shake his hand on the first day of the G20 summit in New Delhi, reported dpa.

"Did you exchange a few words with Lavrov on the sidelines and did you shake his hand?" a reporter asked Scholz.

"No," Scholz responded.

Regarding Lavrov's contribution to the first working session of the summit, the chancellor said only the Russian diplomat offered "the usual talk."

"I don't think anybody in the room believed it," Scholz said at a press conference.

Lavrov is representing Russian President Vladimir Putin at the summit, as he did at the G20 meeting on the Indonesian island of Bali last year. At that summit, Lavrov left early.