US State Secretary urges Russia to 'good faith' dialogue with Ukraine
Photo: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (Getty Images)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed Ukraine with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He called on Russia to engage in a good faith dialogue with Ukraine, the US State Department says.
As noted in the US, Rubio welcomed the large-scale exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine in the 1000-for-1000 format that took place last weekend.
During his conversation with Lavrov, Rubio also called on Moscow to engage in dialogue with Ukraine to end the war.
"The Secretary reiterated President Trump’s calls for constructive, good faith dialogue with Ukraine as the only path to ending this war," the statement said.
The night before, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Sergey Lavrov had a conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. According to the Russians, Lavrov told Rubio about the preparation of specific proposals for the next round of direct Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul.
Ukraine-Russia talks
On May 16, the first direct talks between Ukraine and Russia in three years took place in Istanbul. The meeting of the delegations was mediated by Türkiye.
Before the talks, Russia opposed US mediation and demanded that US representatives not participate in the meeting. Ukraine and Russia failed to reach an agreement on a ceasefire, but the parties agreed on a large exchange of prisoners, 1000 for 1000.
After Donald Trump returned to the US presidency, Special Representative Steve Witkoff interacted with the Russian side. He flew to Russia several times for talks and met with Vladimir Putin.
The United States, Europe, and Ukraine developed a 22-point list of conditions for ending the war. Witkoff was supposed to hand it over to Putin. But, according to the Financial Times, Putin refused to discuss this peace plan, so Witkoff canceled his visit to Russia.
