Rubio on talks with Lavrov in Manila: “A good and honest conversation”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave a positive assessment of his talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, held on the sidelines of the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Conference in Manila.

When answering questions from journalists, Rubio declined to reveal the substance of the meeting, citing the nature of diplomatic work.

“We had a good and honest conversation. But I can’t tell you what we talked about, because diplomacy doesn’t work through microphones,” the U.S. Secretary of State said.

Earlier, Russia’s Foreign Ministry reported that, following the talks, Lavrov and Rubio agreed to continue contacts between their foreign policy agencies, including within the framework of international organizations. In addition, the two sides discussed the normalization of operating conditions for Russian and U.S. diplomatic missions.