'New ideas' needed to reach Ukraine-Russia peace deal, Rubio says after talks with Lavrov in Philippines
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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on July 23 that ending Russia's full-scale war would require "new ideas" to reach a peace agreement, following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Manila.
Rubio and Lavrov met on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' meeting. The two discussed U.S.-Russia relations and "the need to end the Russia-Ukraine war," Rubio said.
Trilateral peace talks between Kyiv, Moscow, and the Washington have been stalled since February, when Washington shifted its focus to the war with Iran.
"If, when peace comes, it'll be because of some new idea and some new concepts, and we're prepared to offer some of those in the right setting and form if the opportunity presents itself and the conditions are right," Rubio said. "We're prepared to play that role in a positive way."
Russia's Foreign Ministry said Lavrov again demanded that the U.S. halt weapons supplies to Ukraine.
He also claimed that Moscow was ready for a diplomatic settlement of its war against Ukraine, saying any agreement should be based on the "understandings" reached by Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump during the Alaska summit last August.
The so-called "Alaska understanding" refers to Moscow's request that Washington to pressure Ukraine to withdraw completely from Donbas, one person familiar with the Alaska discussions previously told the Kyiv Independent.
The demand — which would involve Ukrainian forces giving up territory it currently controls — is a non-starter for Kyiv.
Rubio said that ending the war would require new proposals, arguing that previous ideas had been unacceptable to Ukraine and would likely be even less acceptable now.
