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Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia], July 11, 2025: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio met again on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur, with the war in Ukraine at the centre of discussions, according to Al Jazeera citing Russia's state-run TASS agency.
The talks followed a 50-minute meeting between the two top diplomats a day earlier. While no details have emerged from Friday's exchange, Rubio told reporters after Thursday's talks that both sides had discussed a possible "new and different approach" to reviving peace efforts in Ukraine, Al Jazeera reported.
"I wouldn't characterise it as something that guarantees peace," Rubio said, "but it's a concept that I'll take back to the president."
Lavrov said on Friday that he conveyed Moscow's stance on the conflict. "We discussed Ukraine. We confirmed the position that President [Vladimir] Putin had outlined, including in his July 3 conversation with President [Donald] Trump," Lavrov told Russian media, as per Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera reported that the meeting was characterized as a "substantive and frank exchange" of viewpoints on Ukraine, Iran, Syria, and other global issues. Despite high tensions between the two countries, the meeting marked a rare instance of direct engagement between Washington and Moscow. However, Russian officials rejected the idea that relations were worsening. "I do not agree that the positive trend in relations between Moscow and Washington is fading," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told the RIA news agency, Al Jazeera said.
The current US administration, in my opinion, behaves in a zigzag pattern. "We don't make a big deal out of this," Ryabkov continued, noting that a second round of negotiations could begin before the end of the summer. Al Jazeera reported that both sides indicated a cautious willingness to continue dialogue. "We are talking, and that is a start," Rubio said. "However, a lot depends on what happens next." Rubio, on his first official trip to Asia since assuming the role of Secretary of State, is also scheduled to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Kuala Lumpur on Friday. The meeting is their first in-person exchange and comes as the United States seeks to reassert its influence in the Asia Pacific region, according to Al Jazeera.
The US Secretary of State is participating in the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum, which brings together key actors including Japan, China, Russia, Australia, India, and the European Union.
The series of diplomatic engagements takes place amid worsening US-China trade ties. After earlier tit-for-tat duties exceeding 100 percent, Beijing has cautioned Washington against reintroducing broad tariffs next month, according to Al Jazeera. China has also threatened retaliation against nations that support efforts to cut it out of critical global supply chains, Al Jazeera reported.
It is anticipated that severe import tariffs will commence on August 1 and target eight ASEAN nations, including Malaysia, in addition to close allies Japan and South Korea. Washington maintains that the move is aimed at "rebalancing trade," but critics caution it could harm the partnerships the US is attempting to strengthen, according to Al Jazeera.
The ASEAN foreign ministers stressed the need for a "predictable, transparent, inclusive, free, fair, sustainable, and rules-based multilateral trading system" in a joint communiqué released on Friday. "We reaffirmed our commitment to work constructively with all partners to this end," the statement said, as cited by Al Jazeera.