US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated that, during his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, he will discuss the Russian-Ukrainian war and possible ways to bring it to an end. The talks are scheduled for 23 July in Manila. Rubio said that Washington is ready to play a constructive role should the opportunity arise.
Briefly about the main points
- Rubio and Lavrov are due to meet on 23 July in Manila.
- One of the topics of the talks will be Russia’s war against Ukraine.
- Rubio stated that the US was prepared to help bring the war to an end.
- According to Rubio, there has been no significant progress in the dialogue in recent months.
- Lavrov plans to challenge Trump’s remarks about a swift resolution to the war.
A conversation in Manila
Lavrov had previously announced the planned meeting on 22 July. Rubio subsequently confirmed to journalists that he would be speaking with the Russian minister on 23 July and would raise the issue of Ukraine.
A Radio Free Europe correspondent asked the Secretary of State whether he would put pressure on his Russian counterpart regarding Ukraine. Rubio replied that it was «inappropriate» to talk of pressure, but emphasised his intention to discuss the matter.
Washington's position
Rubio stated that the United States wants the war to end. According to him, it has largely prevented Russia and the US from finding common ground on other issues, although, in his view, there are still some areas for cooperation between Washington and Moscow.
«The US remains open and ready to play a constructive role in bringing this war to an end, should the opportunity arise,» he said. The Secretary of State also noted that ending the war would be beneficial for Russia.
Have new conditions for dialogue emerged?
The Secretary of State acknowledged that negotiations between the US and Russia had not yielded significant progress in recent months. At the same time, he suggested that there may now be new conditions for continuing the dialogue.
Lavrov, for his part, said he intended to ask Rubio about US President Donald Trump’s comments regarding the possibility of a swift resolution to the war.
Previous disagreements over Ukraine
In June, Rubio stated that at last year’s summit in Anchorage There were no agreements between Trump and the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, regarding Ukraine. Following this, Lavrov and Putin’s aide, Yuri Ushakov, accused the US of deviating from the so-called «spirit of Anchorage».
Lavrov also said that Washington’s actions indicate that the US has abandoned its claim to the role of an impartial mediator.
