Lavrov signals readiness to meet Rubio but reiterates Kremlin's conditions
Photo: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (Getty Images)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he is ready to meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio but warned that Moscow has its own conditions, Reuters reports.
The statement came amid unsuccessful efforts to broker an end to the war in Ukraine, which Reuters called "the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War Two."
Last month, Trump canceled a planned meeting with Vladimir Putin in Budapest. A day earlier, the Kremlin denied Western media reports claiming that Putin had lost confidence in Lavrov after the summit collapsed.
"Secretary of State Marco Rubio and I understand the need for regular communication. It is important to discuss the Ukrainian issue and promote the bilateral agenda. That is why we communicate by telephone and are ready to hold face-to-face meetings when necessary," Lavrov said
According to Reuters, Lavrov's comments indicate that Moscow continues to press the Trump administration to push Ukraine into giving up territory in exchange for a peace deal without real security guarantees.
Agreements between Putin and Trump
Lavrov recalled that the understandings reached by Putin and Trump at their August 15 summit in Anchorage, Alaska, were based on Kremlin demands and proposals from US Envoy Steve Witkoff.
Moscow's demands
Moscow insists that Ukraine must:
- Abandon its plans to join NATO;
- Withdraw its troops from four occupied regions — Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
Reuters wrote that Russia currently controls Crimea, most of the Luhansk region, around 80% of Donetsk, 75% of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, as well as parts of Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
Trump-Putin meeting
On October 16, Trump and Putin announced after a phone call that they intended to meet in person within two weeks. Budapest was selected as a possible venue for the summit.
Preparations for the talks were to be coordinated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. However, Trump later canceled the meeting.
Soon after, the US imposed new sanctions on Russia's largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil. The US Treasury Department simultaneously urged Moscow to agree immediately to a ceasefire.
