Rubio meets Lavrov at UN General Assembly in New York

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met behind closed doors in New York on September 23, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The meeting was confirmed by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who posted a photo of the two diplomats together.

No details disclosed

Zakharova noted that the talks were held in a closed format and did not reveal the content of discussions. No statements were issued by either side immediately following the meeting.

The encounter comes a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met US President Donald Trump in New York. Following that meeting, Zelensky said Trump was positively disposed toward granting Ukraine licences for domestic production of Patriot missiles.

Context

The Rubio-Lavrov meeting is the latest in a series of US-Russia contacts as Washington seeks to advance talks on ending the war in Ukraine. Earlier on September 23, Rubio stated at a press conference that Washington would attempt to broker an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, though he acknowledged this would be difficult given that both sides have made striking each other's energy infrastructure a strategic priority.