🔶 Meeting between Rubio and Lavrov; Ukraine, Iran and China on the agenda

🔶 Meeting between Rubio and Lavrov; Ukraine, Iran and China on the agenda

According to The Associated Press, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the Philippines on Thursday, July 23 (1 Mordad), in a meeting that was expected to raise again the possibility of American mediation to end the war in Ukraine.

The U.S. State Department released few details of the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the annual meeting of foreign ministers of the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (“ASEAN”) in Manila.

In a statement, the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said: “The two sides discussed U.S.-Russia relations and the need to end the Russia-Ukraine war.”

The three-day, closed-door discussions between the foreign ministers, which began on Tuesday, have focused mainly on intensifying the war in the Middle East, the war in Russia and Ukraine, and the escalation of tensions in the South China Sea between the Philippines and China.

Before the meeting between Rubio and Lavrov began, reporters asked them whether Russia helps Iran in its attack on U.S. positions in the region by providing targeting information, and also when the war in Ukraine would end.

Lavrov did not answer these questions, but while the room was calm and the reporters’ voices were clearly audible, he said in a teasing tone: “Speak louder.” As he left the session, in response to the repeated question again, he told a reporter: “You have a nice haircut.”