Top US and Russian diplomats discuss Ukraine war in Manila

What the report says

Al Jazeera reported that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met on Thursday, July 23, 2026, in Manila during Association of Southeast Asian Nations-related meetings in the Philippines. Russian media said the encounter lasted a little more than 30 minutes. The discussion focused on the Russia-Ukraine war and broader US-Russia ties, according to limited statements from both governments.

Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Lavrov told Rubio that Moscow remained prepared to pursue a political and diplomatic resolution, while also saying Russia still backed proposals associated with a 2025 Alaska meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. The ministry also said Lavrov objected to continued arms supplies to Kyiv and criticized European countries that Moscow says are pursuing Russia’s “strategic defeat.” The US State Department gave a shorter account, saying the two diplomats discussed bilateral relations and the need to end the war.

The meeting came as diplomatic efforts over Ukraine appeared stalled. Al Jazeera reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had spoken with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about reviving diplomacy. Rubio told reporters a day earlier that the war had made it harder for Washington and Moscow to cooperate on other issues, though he said the US remained open to helping end the conflict if a viable opening emerged.

The talks also took place against a wider backdrop of tensions over the Middle East and continuing battlefield pressure in Ukraine. Al Jazeera noted that Moscow continues to demand Ukrainian territorial concessions, while Kyiv has expanded drone strikes on Russian energy targets and Russia has continued large-scale missile and drone attacks, including a late-June barrage in Kyiv that killed at least 30 people.