Rubio to meet Russia’s Lavrov in Malaysia as Trump turns up pressure on Putin
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers’ summit, both nations confirmed.
The encounter marks the second face-to-face meeting between the two top diplomats, amid growing tension between Washington and Moscow as the war in Ukraine drags into its fourth year. Their first meeting was in February in Saudi Arabia, where the Trump administration had pushed for a peace roadmap , News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Rubio’s trip to Asia, his first since taking office, signals a renewed U.S. focus on the Indo-Pacific, even as President Donald Trump’s administration juggles crises in Ukraine and the Middle East. Rubio is also serving as Trump’s National Security Adviser, underscoring the administration’s tight grip on foreign policy coordination.
The Kuala Lumpur talks come just days after Trump publicly criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling his recent peace overtures "meaningless," despite earlier attempts to reset U.S.-Russia ties. Trump also warned that the U.S. might back sweeping sanctions, including 500% tariffs on countries buying Russian oil, gas, uranium, and other exports.
Kremlin officials downplayed the criticism, calling relations with the U.S. “broken” but claiming they remain open to dialogue.
Meanwhile, Trump’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Rome on Wednesday. The meeting followed Russia’s most extensive drone assault to date,728 unmanned aerial vehicles targeted Ukrainian infrastructure in a coordinated strike that left hundreds missing and further strained Kyiv’s air defenses.
The upcoming Rubio-Lavrov meeting could prove pivotal in testing whether diplomatic channels between the two countries remain viable or are simply symbolic amid the current hostilities.
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