US looks to revive Ukraine peace efforts in Rubio-Lavrov meeting
The meeting between Rubio and Lavrov is scheduled to take place on the sidelines of a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers, among the most high-profile side meetings of the region’s top diplomats at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations event in Manila.
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US mediation efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war have diminished as indirect talks have stalled and the Iran war has come to the fore. Following the collapse of the temporary ceasefire agreement, renewed attacks by Washington and Tehran are intensifying.
Rubio told reporters in Manila on Wednesday that he plans to escalate the dispute with Lavrov in Ukraine and that the United States is open to playing a role in ending the conflict “if that opportunity arises.”
He acknowledged that those efforts had “diminished somewhat in the last few months” but said the meeting would explore whether there was an opportunity to renew talks.
Rubio stated that Russia is the two largest country with nuclear weapons and said, “Although there are areas where we have disagreements, we need to have relations with the Russian government.” he said. Speaking to reporters at the ASEAN meeting, Lavrov said that he would ask Rubio about US President Donald Trump’s recent statements predicting that the agreement is approaching.
“I will ask Marco Rubio about this tomorrow,” Lavrov said.
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Prospects for renewed discussions on ending the war come as Ukraine has made significant progress this year but disagreement among defense leaders threatens to derail its efforts. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has embarked on a major government reshuffle, including among top military officials.
But Ukraine will not be the only issue on the table. Rubio said he would use the meeting to find other potential areas of cooperation between the United States and Russia; This is the type of broad agenda that ministers are addressing in their meetings around the ASEAN meeting.
Rubio also had a long meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi as well as Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Wednesday.
Rubio told reporters that he and Wang this week discussed a new dispute between Chinese and Filipino powers over a disputed region in the South China Sea that Beijing claims almost entirely. Rubio called the incident “escalatory.”
“These need to be managed very carefully, because obviously a conflict between the United States and China, whether economic or otherwise, would have a dramatic global impact,” Rubio said. he said.
The Trump administration has repeatedly criticized China’s assertive actions in the South China Sea to the detriment of smaller claimant countries such as the Philippines, Washington’s oldest treaty ally in Asia. Taiwan and ASEAN members Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have also been involved in often tense territorial disputes.
According to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang protested to Rubio over “the US side’s recent negative remarks and actions.” It was unclear what he was talking about, but Trump recently accused China of interfering in the 2020 election and the US administration shortened visas for Chinese journalists.
According to the statement made by the official Xinhua News Agency, Wang stated that China and the US are “preparing for the upcoming high-level contacts”, referring to Xi’s visit to the US in September.
ASEAN foreign ministers discussed territorial disputes on Tuesday and welcomed progress in years-long talks between China and the regional bloc on a proposed non-aggression pact that both sides hope to finalize this year, according to a draft joint statement seen by The Associated Press.
The so-called code of conduct is aimed at preventing a major conflict that could embroil the United States in disputed waters that are a key global trade route.
