MANILA, July 23 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that the United States remains prepared to play a “constructive role” in helping bring an end to the war in Ukraine, following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of an ASEAN gathering in Manila.
Speaking after the meeting, Rubio said President Donald Trump had made clear that the United States was prepared to help facilitate an end to a “senseless war” if the opportunity arose. He said Washington had conveyed that message to Moscow while declining to characterize Russia’s position during the talks.
“We had a good conversation, a frank conversation,” Rubio said of his meeting with his Russian counterpart. He said he would not go into specifics about what was discussed.
“The United States, the president’s been clear that … we are prepared to play a constructive role in bringing about an end to a senseless war, and we’re ready to do that,” Rubio said.
Lavrov, for his part, “reaffirmed Russia’s readiness for a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict,” the Russian ministry’s statement said, and told Rubio that Moscow remained committed to proposals put forward by Presidents Trump and Vladimir Putin at their August 2025 meeting in Alaska.
Rubio said the conflict had exacted a heavy toll, pointing to civilian deaths and Russian strikes on Kyiv. Both Russia and Ukraine had an incentive to bring the war to an end, but the central challenge remained finding a settlement “that both sides can accept,” he added.
“I think it is a very bloody war,” Rubio said. “I think both sides should have an incentive to bring it to an end. That’s been the challenge, is an end that both sides can accept, and we’ve tried, and we’ll continue to try to see if we can find a middle ground that brings this about,” Rubio said.
(Reporting by Michael Martina; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by David Stanway)
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