The foreign ministers of Russia and the United States will hold direct talks at a key diplomatic forum in Asia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet on Thursday as part of the ongoing ASEAN Summit in Manila.
Speaking after the Russia-ASEAN meeting, Lavrov said the meeting was planned and details were confirmed. His U.S. counterpart Marco Rubio also confirmed the meeting, stating that the primary focus would be on ways to end the war in Ukraine.
Rubio said, "The war in Ukraine has in many ways hindered the ability of Russia and the United States to find areas of agreement on other issues." However, the secretary stressed that this does not prevent seeking other areas of cooperation and indicated that nuclear arms control is among the topics that could be discussed.
Lavrov, for his part, said he would raise U.S. President Donald Trump's statement earlier this month that a peace deal in Ukraine is "closer than people realize." The Russian minister added that Moscow continues to operate on the assumption that the U.S. has "not yet walked back" the proposals made at the presidential summit in Alaska.
Trump has been trying to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine since returning to office last year. However, the U.S.-mediated negotiations have stalled since Trump ordered strikes on Iran in late February.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg news agency claimed on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has hardened his stance on peace negotiations due to Ukraine's continued long-range strikes. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the report as "speculation."
