Rubio tells Lavrov U.S. ready to help end Ukraine war
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- Marco Rubio met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of an ASEAN gathering in Manila on July 23, 2026, calling the talks "a good conversation, a frank conversation" while declining to characterize Russia's position.
- Rubio said President Trump had made clear the U.S. was prepared to help facilitate an end to the "senseless war" in Ukraine and was ready to play a "constructive role," though he offered no specifics on what was discussed.
- Lavrov told Rubio that Moscow remained committed to a political and diplomatic settlement and referenced proposals from the Trump-Putin August 2025 meeting in Alaska as the framework.
- Rubio described the war as "very bloody," pointed to civilian deaths and Russian strikes on Kyiv, and identified the central challenge as finding a settlement "that both sides can accept."
- The Russian Foreign Ministry statement said Moscow "reaffirmed Russia's readiness for a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict," with both sides publicly framing the meeting as constructive.
Why it matters: Rubio publicly framed the meeting as productive and emphasized finding middle ground, while Lavrov publicly anchored any settlement in the August 2025 Alaska proposals — signaling that despite the diplomatic cordiality, the two sides are working from different baselines for ending the war.
