U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday he expressed “disappointment and frustration” to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over the lack of progress on resolving the conflict with Ukraine.
Rubio made the remarks after a 50-minute meeting with Lavrov on the sidelines of the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in Kuala Lumpur. The visit marked his first trip to Asia since taking office as the U.S. top diplomat.
Rubio told reporters that the two sides had a frank and important exchange, during which he reiterated U.S. President Donald Trump’s disappointment with what he called Russia’s lack of flexibility.
“We need to see a roadmap moving forward on how this conflict can be brought to an end,” he said.
On the same day, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Lavrov and Rubio held a substantive and frank exchange of views on the Ukraine crisis, along with several other international issues.
“They have reaffirmed mutual commitment to searching for peaceful solutions to conflict situations and resuming Russian-U.S. economic and humanitarian cooperation and unhindered ties between their countries’ societies, which could be promoted by the resumption of direct flights,” it said, noting the two sides also stressed the need to continue efforts to normalize the work of bilateral diplomatic missions.
“It has been agreed to continue constructive dialogue on a growing number of issues of mutual interest based on mutual respect between the Russian and U.S. foreign policy offices,” it said.
Rubio and Lavrov last met in Saudi Arabia during negotiations between Russian and U.S. delegations earlier this year. Their latest talks came amid heightened tensions between the two countries, particularly over the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Enditem
Source: Xinhua
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