Secretary Rubio meets Russia Lavrov, discusses the “new” path to Ukrainian peace

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that he and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov had exchanged “new” and “different” approaches to end the almost three and a half years war in Ukraine as a master’s degree in the frustration of President Donald Trump.

“I think it’s a new and different approach,” Rubio told journalists after his meeting almost an hour with Lavrov on the sidelines of the Conference of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Anase) in Malaysia. “I would not characterize it as something that guarantees peace, but it is a concept that I will come back to the president.”

Rubio did not share any details on what this new approach implies, but comes as Trump is thinking about “biting” against Russia and increasing military aid to Ukraine, also affirming this week that he had not signed on the Pentagon limited weapons break in Kyiv pushed earlier this month.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) meets the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov (R), on the sidelines of the meeting of foreign ministers at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center in Kuala Lumpur on July 10, 2025. (Mandel Ngan / Pool / AFP via Getty Images)

The secretary said that he had also communicated to Lavrov that Trump was “disappointed and frustrated that there was no more flexibility on the Russian side” to continue a legitimate end to his war in Ukraine.

Rubio was asked about the multiple calls from Trump with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the minimum impact that it had on the war of the Kremlin chief when Russian attacks were only intensifying and became more intense.

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President Donald Trump is shown to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on the first day of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan on June 28, 2019 during Trump’s first term. (Kremlin Press Office / Handout / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images)

“There have been humanitarian exchanges, of course … Our goal here is to put an end to this war,” he said, adding that he believed that Trump “deserves huge credit” to have held calls with Putin when his predecessor and other world leaders have chosen not to do it.

Rubio said that he would not characterize Lavrov’s discussion or response, but said: “We have to see a roadmap going forward on how this conflict can conclude. And then we shared some ideas about what it might look like.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio participated in a press conference at the 58th meeting of nations of the Nations of the Southeast Nations (ASEAN) and related meetings to the Kuala Lumpur Convention on July 10, 2025. (Mandel Ngan / Pool / AFP via Getty Images)

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“We will continue to remain involved where we see opportunities to make a difference,” he added.

The meeting was the second time that Rubio and Lavrov have met since the secretary occupied the higher post.