On Thursday, July 23rd, 2026, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Manila during the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting. The meeting, reported by Russian media to have lasted just over half an hour, focused on the ongoing war in Ukraine.

According to a statement from Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lavrov reaffirmed Russia's readiness for a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict. He emphasized Moscow's commitment to proposals put forward by former US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin during their August 2025 meeting in Alaska. Lavrov also stressed that continuing to supply weapons to the Kyiv regime was unacceptable.

The diplomatic engagement coincided with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s efforts to revive stalled peace talks. Zelenskyy told US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner that he had "a good, important conversation on how to reinvigorate diplomacy." He also confirmed having spoken with other US envoys in pursuit of ending the years-long war.

Additional developments in Ukraine include Zelenskyy replacing the military chief following protests and the new military chief pledging to escalate retaliation against Russia. Meanwhile, injuries were reported after an attack on Russia’s top online retailer Wildberries.

Sources