Russian Foreign Minister Serguei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met this Thursday (23) in Manila, Philippines, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit, and discussed the situation surrounding the war in Ukraine.
According to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry, the meeting included “an in-depth exchange of views on a wide range of bilateral and international issues.”
During the discussion on the war in Ukraine, Lavrov informed Marco Rubio about “the real situation on the line of contact” and “emphasized the inadmissibility of further arming the Kiev regime.”
The Russian chancellor also “reaffirmed Russia’s readiness for a political and diplomatic solution to the conflict” and the “commitment to the proposals” presented by the US at the summit in Anchorage, Alaska.
Before the meeting, Rubio told reporters that one of the topics of discussion would be Russia’s war with Ukraine. He noted that the United States remains ready to play a role in ending the conflict, “if the opportunity presents itself.”
“I believe that right now — and I think the Russians would agree — the United States is probably the only country in the world capable of playing this role,” said the Secretary of State.
Rubio said those efforts had “lost a little steam in recent months” but added that the meeting would determine whether there is a possibility of resuming negotiations.
This was the fourth meeting between Lavrov and Rubio since 2025. In June, Marco Rubio stated that, during the Alaska summit, only proposals for ending Russia’s war with Ukraine were discussed, but no agreement was reached. Putin, in turn, declared that commitments and certain possibilities were discussed in Anchorage, but “there were no agreements”.
Kremlin: ‘It’s too early to talk about new negotiations’
The spokesman for the Russian presidency, Dmitry Peskov, in turn, declared this Thursday that it is still too early to talk about a new impetus or a new acceleration in negotiations on the Ukrainian crisis.
“I would not be overly optimistic in this situation. In fact, contacts are being established, and this is always positive,” declared Peskov.
The Kremlin spokesman said that Russia continues dialogue with the United States through existing working channels. He expressed the hope that American negotiators could come to Moscow when they were more available.
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
