Lavrov–Rubio meeting in KL ends after 50 minutes
KUALA LUMPUR: The meeting between Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio concluded after about 50 minutes.
Lavrov, who was seen leaving the venue around 7pm, did not speak to the media following the session.
Rubio, however, was scheduled to proceed to a trilateral meeting with Japan and the Philippines immediately after the bilateral discussions ended.
At 6.15pm, Lavrov and Rubio were seen entering a meeting room at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, shortly after concluding their respective Post-Ministerial Meetings with Asean earlier in the day.
This marks the second in-person meeting between the two top diplomats. Their first encounter took place in February in Saudi Arabia, as part of the Trump administration's efforts to re-establish bilateral relations and help broker an end to the war.
According to Reuters, President Donald Trump — who returned to office this year with a promise to swiftly end the conflict that began in 2022 — has adopted a noticeably more conciliatory tone towards Moscow, in contrast to his predecessor Joe Biden's firm support for Kyiv.
However, on Tuesday, just one day after authorising the delivery of US defensive weapons to Ukraine, Trump issued an unusually sharp rebuke of Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that the latter's recent remarks on peace efforts were "meaningless".
Trump has also indicated that he is considering supporting a bill that would impose severe sanctions on Russia, including tariffs of up to 500 per cent on countries that continue to import Russian oil, gas, uranium, and other key exports.
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