Russia’s Lavrov, US’ Rubio Meet in Kuala Lumpur
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, the US State Department and Russia’s foreign ministry said.
It would be the second in-person meeting between Rubio and Lavrov, and comes at a time when US President Donald Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin as the war in Ukraine drags on.
The first meeting between the top diplomats took place in Saudi Arabia in February as part of the Trump administration’s effort to re-establish bilateral relations and help negotiate an end to the war.
“I can confirm: such a meeting is being worked out,” TASS state news agency cited Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying on Thursday.
Trump, who returned to power this year promising a swift end to the war that began in 2022, had taken a more conciliatory tone toward Moscow in a departure from predecessor Joe Biden’s staunch support for Kyiv.
But on Tuesday, a day after Trump approved sending US defensive weapons to Ukraine, he aimed unusually direct criticism at Putin, saying the Kremlin leader’s statements on moving towards peace were “meaningless”.
