Lavrov Confirms Thursday Meeting with Marco Rubio, Stating US Seeks Constructive Role

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet on Thursday during ASEAN events in the Philippines to discuss Ukraine and bilateral proposals.

Meeting Confirmed in Manila

The meeting is already arranged and will take place tomorrow during the first half of the day. Sergey Lavrov stated that he hopes to have the opportunity to share their impressions, as reported by the Interfax agency.

Both Sergey Lavrov and Marco Rubio are participating in the meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. This is a political and economic organization uniting 11 regional states, including the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

ASEAN Summit and Regional Context

Although the US and Russia are not formally part of the organization, their representatives, similar to those of the EU and China, participate in some of its initiatives. This year, the organization’s forum is discussing issues such as the war in Iran and its resulting disruptions to the global economy.

Both Lavrov and Rubio are already in the Philippines. Furthermore, the Russian Foreign Minister stated that they managed to speak briefly during one of the ceremonies at the summit in Manila, where they confirmed their face-to-face meeting on Thursday.

US Proposals from Anchorage

Lavrov stated that from Russia’s perspective, the US has not withdrawn the proposals made in Anchorage. Moscow’s premise is that Washington has not yet retracted the proposals presented during the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska, the Russian foreign minister additionally announced.

The meeting’s schedule was also confirmed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who stated that the US is looking for opportunities to play a constructive role in the process of ending the war in Ukraine.

Trump’s War Forecast and Past Agreements

Regarding President Trump’s forecast concerning the alleged approach of the end of the war, Lavrov announced that he will ask Marco Rubio about it tomorrow.

The United States has never officially confirmed that any agreement regarding the war was reached in Anchorage. It reportedly would have involved freezing the front line in exchange for ceding the Donbas to Moscow. Russia has repeatedly invoked the thread of the alleged agreement in its messaging and reiterated that the US broke the presented promises.