Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a surprise meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on July 10 and conveyed President Donald Trump’s growing frustration with the lack of progress in negotiations to end the Russia–Ukraine war.
Speaking with reporters on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, Rubio described his Thursday meeting with Lavrov as a “frank conversation.”
“I echoed what the president has said, of both a disappointment and frustration at the lack of progress in peace talks or in a path forward,” Rubio said.
On July 3, Trump told reporters that he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the Ukraine conflict, but “didn’t make any progress with him.” In another comment this week, Trump accused Putin of conveying empty rhetoric in peace talks….