Rubio Reaffirms US Commitment to Ending Ukraine War

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that the United States remains ready to play a constructive role in ending the war in Ukraine. The talks took place on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Manila.

Rubio described the meeting as "good" and "open" but declined to provide further details. He said President Donald Trump had made clear that the United States stood ready to help bring an end to what he called a "senseless war" if the opportunity arose, adding that Washington had conveyed that message to Moscow.

Following the talks, Russia's Foreign Ministry said Lavrov had reaffirmed Moscow's readiness to pursue a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict. The ministry also said he reiterated Russia's commitment to proposals that it said had been put forward by Presidents Trump and Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Alaska in August 2025.

Rubio said the war had claimed a heavy civilian toll and pointed to recent Russian attacks on Kyiv. He added that both Russia and Ukraine had reasons to end the conflict, but that the greatest challenge remained finding a settlement acceptable to both sides.

(Reuters, bak)