Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that the US and Russia exchanged new ideas for peace negotiations on the ongoing all-out war in Ukraine after meeting their Russian counterparts in Malaysia despite their “frustration.”
“I reflected what (US) President (Donald Trump) said, both disappointing and frustrating at the lack of progress,” Rubio told reporters after consultations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
“We need to move forward with the roadmap on how this (war) ends, and we shared some ideas on how it would look,” he said after the 50-minute meeting.
But Rubio said the two now in their fourth year and discussed “new and different approaches” to discuss with the Kremlin about how to end the war.
“I don’t characterise it as a guarantee of peace, but it’s the concept of me taking it back to the president,” he explained. However, he did not provide further details about the new proposal.
“We will continue to be involved where we think we have an opportunity to make a difference.”
The two gathered ten ASEAN members and their most important diplomatic partners, including Russia, China, Japan, Japan, South Korea, European countries and the United States, to hold discussions in Kuala Lumpur on the bystanders of the annual Association of Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN) Forum.
The meeting was the second time Rubio met since he took office, and we spoke on the phone several times.
Their first meeting took place in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia in February.
Thursday’s meeting came shortly after the US resumed shipping defensive weapons to Ukraine. This followed a pause to review domestic ammunition stocks that were welcomed in Moscow.
As Russia engaged in escalating air attacks on Ukraine, Trump became increasingly irritated by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Diplomatic promotion and tariff threats
Rubio was also meeting with other foreign ministers. These include many countries facing US tariffs, scheduled to take effect on August 1.
Rubio tried to ease concerns when he held a group meeting with the ASEAN Foreign Minister.
“The region, the Indo-Pacific, remains the focus of US foreign policy,” he said.
“I think it’s impossible to be distracted when we hear on the news that the US and the world might be distracted by events in other parts of the planet, because it’s our strong view and reality that stories for this century and the next 50 years are mostly written in this region.”
Trump notified several countries on Monday and Wednesday that if they do not enter into a trade agreement with the US, they will face higher tariffs.
Among them are eight out of ASEAN’s 10 members.
US State Department officials said tariffs and trade were not Rubio’s focus during the meeting. Trump’s Republican administration hopes Beijing will become increasingly nervous towards its smaller neighbors and prioritize maritime safety and security in the South China Sea, which is fighting multinational crime.
However, Rubio may have been heavily pleaded to avoid the tariff issues that have plagued some of Washington’s closest allies and partners, including most members of Japan, South Korea and Asensi.
Rubio met with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday. Anwar Ibrahim warns that world trade is being built to force weaker countries.
Anwar urged ASEAN to strengthen regional trade and reduce its dependence on external forces.
Additional sources •AP
