The United States is prepared to help bring the Russian-Ukrainian war to an end, but this will require new proposals, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said following a meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister in Manila on 23 July.
Speaking to journalists, Rubio said that his talks with Sergey Lavrov had been “good” and “frank”, but declined to disclose any details.
In response to a question from a Radio Free Europe reporter, the Secretary of State said that the US was “ready to play a constructive role in ending this senseless war” and that Washington had conveyed this position directly to Moscow.
At the same time, when asked whether the meeting had led to any breakthrough, Rubio dismissed expectations of rapid progress:
“Do you think we’ve resolved the war in Ukraine in the 30 minutes we’ve spent here in Asia? It doesn’t work like that.”
According to the official, Russia and Ukraine have strong incentives to end the conflict, whilst the main obstacle remains finding terms acceptable to both sides.
“That was the challenge: an outcome that both sides can accept,” he said, adding that Washington would continue to try to find common ground should opportunities arise.
Rubio noted that Russia is facing strikes deep into its territory and is losing “more than 5,000–6,000 soldiers a week”. At the same time, Ukraine is also paying a “huge price”, he added, citing civilian casualties and the increasing frequency of strikes on Kyiv.
Previous proposals are not working
Rubio also mentioned a reference in the Russian statement on the meeting to the so-called Anchorage proposals, stating that the ideas previously discussed had failed because Kyiv had not accepted them.
“We will have to come up with new proposals and new ideas. Of course, that (proposal – ed.) was unacceptable to Ukraine at the time, and I don’t think it’s acceptable to them now either. In fact, it’s probably even less acceptable to them,” the Secretary of State said.
In his view, any final peace agreement is likely to require “new ideas and some new concepts”. He added that the United States is prepared to put forward proposals “if the opportunity arises and the conditions are favourable”.
Responding to a question on whether Lavrov had called on Washington to halt arms supplies to Ukraine, Rubio reiterated that there had been no change in US policy, stating that his country continues to sell arms through NATO channels whilst pursuing diplomatic efforts:
“We want the war to end. We are prepared to play any positive role we can to bring it to an end.”
However, he emphasised that a settlement would require broad negotiations, not just a single meeting in the Philippines.
When asked by Radio Free Europe whether US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy might meet in the near future, Rubio replied that US officials maintain frequent contact with Kyiv and have met with Ukrainian representatives more often than with their Russian counterparts. He also said that he had not discussed Russia’s war in Ukraine with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during their separate talks, as both sides had “many other topics to discuss”.
Talks with Iran
The US Secretary of State also cast doubt on Iran’s willingness to reach a long-term agreement on its nuclear programme, stating that Tehran had repeatedly sought negotiations but had a history of reneging on its commitments.
“I simply don’t think they are serious about striking a deal,” Rubio said, adding that President Trump is increasingly coming to the same conclusion.
He said that Iranian officials use intermediaries to signal their interest in negotiations, but have repeatedly altered or breached agreements once they have been reached.
At the same time, the Secretary of State believes that Iran will eventually become more open to negotiations as economic and military pressure mounts. Rubio said that the United States is not seeking regime change in Iran, describing Washington’s main objective as preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons:
“The US is seeking a denuclearised Iran that will never possess nuclear weapons.”
When asked about reports that Russia was helping Iran to attack American troops, Rubio declined to discuss intelligence matters, stating that he would not comment publicly, even if such reports were accurate. He stated that Iran had been developing its own missile and drone capabilities for years, and that nothing currently being done by external parties significantly increases Tehran’s ability to attack Americans.
On 23 July in the Philippines, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meetings, a meeting took place between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The Russian channel RT added that the conversation lasted about half an hour.