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Kremlin says it would welcome Rubio-Lavrov contacts at ASEAN event

July 20, 2026 8:28 AM EDT

FILE PHOTO: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio talk as they attend a press conference held by U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin following their meeting to negotiate an end to the w

MOSCOW, July 20 (Reuters) - ‌The Kremlin ​said ​on Monday that it would welcome contacts between U.S. Secretary of State ‌Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei ⁠Lavrov in Manila this week where members of ‌the Association of Southeast ‌Asian Nations are gathering.

Rubio, who is in Manila from July 19-23, said at the ​weekend he would be ready to meet Lavrov on the sidelines of ASEAN-related events, ⁠but that he was not sure if such a meeting ​had been finalised.

Asked on Monday about the possibility of such a meeting, Kremlin ​spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated ‌Moscow was in favour of the two top diplomats meeting.

"Contacts through ⁠the ministries of foreign affairs and diplomatic channels are of course largely of a technical nature, ⁠but if there were to be contact at the ​level of foreign ministers, we would certainly welcome it," Peskov told reporters.

Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian ‌Foreign Ministry, told the RIA state news agency later on Monday ‌that officials were working on setting up ⁠a possible meeting between ‌Lavrov and Rubio ​on the sidelines of the ASEAN events.

(Reporting by Dmitry AntonovEditing by Andrew ‌Osborn)



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