Manila [Philippines], July 23 : US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thurday said that he discussed "the need to end the Russia-Ukraine war" during talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the ASEAN Ministerial in Manila.
In a post on X following the meeting, Rubio said that he also held talks on the US-Russia ties duirng their meeting.
"Met today with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the ASEAN Ministerial. We discussed the U.S.-Russia relationship and the need to end the Russia-Ukraine war," Rubio said in his post.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia also confirmed the meeting between the two leaders in a post on X.
"Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State @SecRubio hold talks on the sidelines of ASEAN ministerial events," the post read.
The meeting came as Washington continues to push for an end to the conflict in Ukraine while keeping diplomatic channels open with Moscow.
Earlier on Wednesday, while speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting, Rubio said the war in Ukraine had significantly affected broader US-Russia relations but stressed that Washington remained willing to engage with Russia and support efforts aimed at ending the conflict.
"We're going to talk about it. Obviously, the war in Ukraine, I think, has in many ways impeded the ability of Russia and the United States to find areas of agreement on other topics. That doesn't mean we won't seek to find other areas of potential cooperation," Rubio said.
He added that the United States believes ending the conflict would be in Russia's interest as well.
"We'd like to see that war come to an end. We think it would be good for Russia if that war came to an end. So we'll raise it," Rubio said.
Reaffirming Washington's position, Rubio said the United States remained prepared to facilitate efforts to bring the conflict to a close if an opportunity emerged.
"The U.S. remains open and willing to play a constructive role in bringing that war to an end, if that opportunity presents itself. And it might. We're open to it, to playing that role, because we think right now--and I think the Russians would agree--we're probably the only country in the world that can play that role in trying to bring that to an end," he said.
The meeting between Rubio and Lavrov took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN Ministerial in Manila, where regional and global security issues are among the key topics of discussion.