US and Russian diplomats meet in Manila, differ sharply on Ukraine arms supplies
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a half-hour meeting on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian summit in Manila on Thursday, their first face-to-face talks since September 2025. The discussion centred on the ongoing war in Ukraine and the issue of Western arms deliveries to Kyiv.
According to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry, Mr. Lavrov told Mr. Rubio that continued supplies of weapons to the 'Kyiv regime' were 'unacceptable.' The warning comes as Washington has shifted its diplomatic focus from mediating in Ukraine to addressing the conflict in West Asia.
After the meeting, Mr. Rubio described the conversation as 'a good conversation, a frank conversation,' without disclosing specifics. When asked about the arms deliveries Moscow had objected to, he replied: 'We sell weapons through PURL... There has been no change in our policy in this regard.' The PURL initiative, launched last year, allows Ukraine to receive US equipment purchased by Washington's NATO allies.
Mr. Rubio expressed hope that the United States could play a constructive role in ending the war. 'We want a peace deal. We want the war to end,' he told reporters, adding that it would require 'something that both Russia and Ukraine can agree to' and that 'that's going to require a lot of work.'
In its statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Mr. Lavrov reiterated Russia's readiness for a 'political-diplomatic resolution to the conflict.'
Shortly before the meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had spoken with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in an effort to revive stalled peace talks. 'It was a good, important conversation on how to reinvigorate diplomacy and bring peace closer,' Mr. Zelensky posted on X.
US President Donald Trump has voiced support for Ukraine's long-range drone strikes targeting Russian energy infrastructure, saying such attacks could 'help bring about an end' to the conflict. In recent months, Ukraine has expanded its drone campaign, disrupting daily life inside Russia, while Moscow has escalated deadly missile strikes on Kyiv, exploiting Ukraine's depleted air defence stocks.
On Thursday, Russian airstrikes killed three people in eastern Ukraine, and four others were killed in Ukrainian attacks in Russia and annexed Crimea, according to local authorities.
The two top diplomats also discussed the conflict in West Asia, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, which noted Moscow's condemnation of recent US strikes on its Iranian ally.
