United States secretary of state Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov held talks on Saturday and discussed the ‘next steps’ to end the war in Ukraine, according to the US Department of State.
“Secretary Rubio and foreign minister Lavrov discussed next steps to follow up on recent meetings in Saudi Arabia and agreed to continue working towards restoring communication between the United States and Russia,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
Bruce added that Rubio also informed Lavrov of America’s military deterrence operations against the Iran-backed Houthis.
“The secretary emphasized that continued Houthi attacks on US military and commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea will not be tolerated,” she stated.
While further Saudi-hosted US-Russia talks remain unscheduled, Rubio and Lavrov agreed to strengthen bilateral communications, news agency AFP reported.
Ukraine’s conditional acceptance of
Despite recent tensions between US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine has accepted, albeit conditionally, a US-mediated 30-day ceasefire proposal, contingent on Moscow ceasing hostilities in eastern Ukraine. However, Russian President Putin has not accepted these terms, instead proposing conditions beyond the US-Ukraine agreement scope.
Trump, since his January return to office, has prioritised ending the three-year conflict, notably improving relations with Putin.
‘Putin would eventually negotiate’
Meanwhile, following a virtual London summit, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged 26 world leaders to ‘enhance’ Ukraine’s position, ‘safeguard’ potential ceasefires, and sustain pressure on Moscow. Starmer suggested Putin would eventually negotiate, and criticised Russia’s delays citing requirements for ‘extensive analysis’ before implementing the proposed truce.
Both Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron expressed willingness to deploy troops in Ukraine, despite Moscow’s continued opposition to foreign peacekeepers.
The London summit was held days after military officials from around 30 nations convened in Paris on March 11 to discuss peacekeeping operations, with a follow-up meeting scheduled for Thursday in the UK.
Recent developments include Russian territorial gains in the Kursk region, Ukrainian drone strikes in Belgorod affecting three civilians, and damage to Ukrainian buildings in Chernihiv.
