US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers’ meeting in Manila, the Philippines.
The two discussed the Ukraine conflict and efforts to normalise US-Russia relations.
Lavrov reaffirmed Russia’s readiness for a “political and diplomatic settlement” of the conflict, according to a Russian foreign ministry statement.
He also said Moscow remained committed to proposals put forward by Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin during their August 2025 meeting in Alaska.
“We have to have a relationship with the Russian government, even though we have areas of disagreement,” Rubio said, noting that the United States and Russia are the world’s two largest nuclear powers.
The two officials agreed to maintain contact, the Russian foreign ministry said
Russia warns US on Ukraine aid
Following the meeting, Russia warned the United States against making what it called “unacceptable” arms deliveries to Ukraine.
Lavrov stressed that it was “unacceptable to continue supplying weapons to the Kyiv regime” during the talks with Rubio, the Russian foreign ministry said.
