Rubio says he is ready to meet Lavrov on the sidelines of ASEAN in the Philippines

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he is ready to hold meetings with Russian and Chinese foreign ministers Sergey Lavrov and Wang Yi at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations event in the Philippines.

“Not sure it’s been finalized. But we would be open to meeting with them,” Rubio told reporters (as quoted by Fox).

According to the State Department, Rubio will be in Manila from July 19 to 23. Lavrov’s visit is scheduled for July 21–23. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko told TASS that Lavrov intends to hold bilateral meetings during those days beyond the ASEAN framework as well.

Previously, Rubio and Lavrov held a phone call during which Rubio called for an end to hostilities in Ukraine. The two sides also discussed the importance of creating conditions for negotiations aimed at a lasting peace. In addition, Rubio participated in talks between US and Russian delegations in Riyadh, where they discussed the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine and the restoration of diplomatic missions.

The Kremlin has described the state of Russian-American relations as “rubble,” but notes that dialogue is continuing, though no quick results are expected.