Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a phone call on June 1 to discuss Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and upcoming peace talks scheduled for June 2 in Istanbul.
The call comes on the eve of the second round of direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow, amid escalating attacks as the Kremlin continues to reject calls for an unconditional ceasefire.
According to Russia's Foreign Ministry, Lavrov and Rubio "exchanged views on various initiatives concerning a settlement of the Ukraine crisis, including plans to resume direct Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul on June 2."
The State Department confirmed that Russia requested the call and that Rubio reiterated U.S. President Donald Trump's call for direct talks between Russia and Ukraine to achieve "a lasting peace."
During the most recent peace talks on May 16 — the first direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine since the start of the war — the two parties spoke for less than two hours, with no agreement reached on a ceasefire.
Moreover, Moscow reiterated its maximalist demands for Kyiv to withdraw completely from four Ukrainian oblasts, despite Russia not controlling any of them in their entirety.
Although the peace talks were largely unsuccessful, Russia and Ukraine managed to reach an agreement for the exchange of prisoners of war (POWs) on a 1,000-for-1,000 basis.
More than a week ago, Russia also promised to reveal its peace terms after the prisoner exchange, but has yet to deliver.
During the June 1 phone call, the Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that Rubio also expressed his condolences over the deaths that resulted from recent train derailment in Russia's Bryansk Oblast, which borders Ukraine.
At least seven people died and another 69 were injured after a train derailed on May 31, following the collapse of an overhead road bridge. The cause of the incident is not yet clear and no one has claimed responsibility for the bridge collapse.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
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