Lavrov meets Rubio in New York
The two met at 9am Eastern in New York as Zelensky warned Russia is preparing a large-scale attack on Ukraine.
Published
Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New York at 9am Eastern on Wednesday, opening one of the few direct diplomatic channels between Moscow and Washington still open.
The meeting comes as Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia is preparing a massive attack on Ukraine, a statement he made as Rubio prepared to sit down with Lavrov. The Kremlin, for its part, says conditions for peace talks with Ukraine are not yet in place, and that Zelensky could travel to Moscow only after decisions are made. No high-level meetings between Moscow and Kyiv are currently scheduled.
President Vladimir Putin has said Russia's military goals in Ukraine will be achieved, telling servicemen that the country's coming vote is being held for them. Rubio has said publicly that ending the war makes sense, but has also acknowledged that sensible outcomes often do not happen in foreign policy.
The encounter gives Washington and Moscow a rare direct line of contact at a moment when tensions are rising on several fronts, but little in the run-up points to any change in position on either side. Rubio's own caution, paired with the Kremlin's insistence that the moment for negotiations has not arrived, suggests the meeting is aimed at keeping communication open rather than signalling any shift in policy.