The top Russian and US diplomats discussed the Ukraine conflict and bilateral ties
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held closed-door talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.
The meeting lasted for just under an hour and revolved primarily around the Ukraine conflict, according to the tight-lipped statements made after the conversation by the two sides.
“The Secretary reiterated President [Donald] Trump’s call for the killing to stop and the need for Moscow to take meaningful steps toward a durable resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war,” the US Department of State said in a statement.
The Russian Foreign Ministry offered a slightly more detailed readout of the talks, stating that Lavrov and Rubio had agreed to “continue constructive dialogue between the Russian and US foreign ministries” as well as reaffirmed the importance of the “momentum” generated by the Alaska summit for “normalizing bilateral relations.”
“Lavrov emphasized [Moscow’s] readiness to adhere to the line established by the Russian and US leaders in Alaska, including coordinating efforts with the US side to address the root causes of the Ukraine conflict,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that the top diplomat called out the “unacceptable schemes promoted by Kiev and some European capitals aimed at prolonging the conflict” during the talks.
The meeting comes on the heels of a sharp change in Trump’s rhetoric on the conflict following a meeting with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky earlier this week. In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, the US president said he believes Kiev is “in a position to fight and win all of Ukraine back,” with enough support from the EU and NATO. He also branded Russia a “paper tiger,” arguing that it had failed to defeat Ukraine and claiming that Moscow was “in big economic trouble.”
Moscow appeared to brush off the hostile rhetoric, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov jokingly suggesting that Russia was a “real bear” rather than a “paper tiger.” While the country’s economy has been facing certain “problems,” it has largely adapted to the ongoing conflict and withstood the unprecedented Western sanctions, Peskov told Russian business daily RBK on Wednesday.
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