Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — just two days after President Trump voiced his growing frustration with Moscow trying to “bulls–t” him on its willingness to end the war on Ukraine.
Rubio told reporters after the talks that the two exchanged ideas for continued peace negotiations, calling the strategy discussed “a new and a different approach.”
“I wouldn’t characterize it as something that guarantees a peace, but it’s a concept that, you know, that I’ll take back to the president,” he said, without elaborating.
The secretary also added that Trump has been “disappointed and frustrated that there’s not been more flexibility on the Russian side” to end its war, as demonstrated in the president’s Tuesday remarks.
“We need to see a roadmap moving forward about how this conflict can conclude. And then we shared some ideas about what that might look like,” he said of the meeting. “We’re going to continue to stay involved where we see opportunities to make a difference.”
The meeting lasted nearly an hour.
Rubio and his Russian counterpart were both in Malaysia for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit.