Lavrov to meet Rubio at UN General Assembly next week, Russia says
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov plans to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly next week, Russia's U.N. envoy said on Sept. 19.
"There is no agenda yet, but the meeting is planned," Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's U.N. ambassador, said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 television channel.
The news comes as U.S. President Donald Trump's months-long effort to broker a peace deal in Ukraine has made little headway, while Russia continues to reject a ceasefire and intensifies attacks on Ukrainian cities.
The exact date of the meeting was not specified. The high-level week of the U.N.'s 80th General Assembly in New York will run from Sept. 23 to 27, while Lavrov is expected to address the U.N. on Sept. 27.
The U.S. State Department has not commented on the possible meeting.
Russia's chief diplomat previously met Rubio on Aug. 15 during the Alaska summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump.
Lavrov and Rubio also held talks in Kuala Lumpur on July 10 on the sidelines of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, discussing the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to attend next week's U.N. Assembly, with both Rubio and the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry floating a possible meeting between the Ukrainian president and Trump.
