U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio emerged from a face-to-face meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Manila on Thursday, declaring that America stands ready to play a “constructive role” in ending the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The two diplomats met on the sidelines of an ASEAN gathering in the Philippine capital. Afterward, Rubio told reporters that President Donald Trump has been consistent in his position that Washington is willing to help facilitate a resolution to what Rubio called a “senseless war” — provided the opportunity presents itself. He said that message had been delivered directly to Moscow, though he declined to share Russia’s response or the specifics of what was discussed.
“We had a good conversation, a frank conversation,” Rubio said of his exchange with the Russian foreign minister, adding that he would not go into further detail about the substance of the talks.
“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 stated.
On the Russian side, the foreign ministry released a statement saying Lavrov “reaffirmed Russia’s readiness for a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict.” The statement also indicated that Lavrov told Rubio that Moscow continues to support proposals made by Presidents Trump and Vladimir Putin during their August 2025 meeting in Alaska.
Rubio acknowledged the devastating human cost of the conflict, pointing specifically to civilian casualties and Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. He argued that both nations have strong reasons to want the fighting to stop, but that the core difficulty lies in reaching a deal that works for everyone involved.
“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.”
