Top US and Russian diplomats discuss Ukraine war in Manila
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- Marco Rubio and Sergey Lavrov met in Manila on Thursday on the sidelines of the ASEAN meeting, with the sit-down lasting just over half an hour and the two also expected to discuss the Middle East conflict.
- Lavrov "reaffirmed Russia's readiness for a political and diplomatic settlement" and cited proposals from the Trump-Putin August 2025 Alaska summit, while telling Rubio it was "unacceptable to continue supplying weapons to the Kyiv regime" and condemning European countries seeking Russia's "strategic defeat."
- The US State Department offered few details, only saying the two discussed the US-Russia relationship and the need to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
- Zelenskyy said he spoke with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about reinvigorating stalled diplomacy, the same day as the Rubio-Lavrov meeting.
- Rubio said the Ukraine war has "impeded the ability of Russia and the United States to find areas of agreement on other topics," but the US remained open to playing a role in ending the conflict "if that opportunity presents itself."
- Peace talks have been at a standstill, with US attention now focused on the Middle East and Moscow maintaining its demand that Kyiv cede territory.
Why it matters: The half-hour meeting produced almost no detail from the US side and reiterated Russia's unchanged demands — Kyiv must cede territory and Western arms flows must stop. With US attention now focused on the Middle East, the brief sit-down signals Washington is keeping the channel open without any new concessions from either side.
