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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a bilateral meeting in Manila on Thursday, lasting more than half an hour, according to a TASS correspondent. The talks, which began at 11:54 a.m. local time and concluded at 12:31 p.m., were held on the sidelines of regional ASEAN meetings. A diplomatic source told TASS that the meeting was initiated by the US side.

Coverage Comparison

The meeting was covered by TASS, which provided multiple reports from its correspondents and official statements. The agency's reports detail the meeting's duration, the topics discussed, and the composition of both delegations, as well as the Russian delegation's broader agenda at the ASEAN meetings.

Key Claims

  • Lavrov met with Rubio in Manila; the meeting lasted more than half an hour.
  • According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Lavrov briefed Rubio on the current situation along the combat line and stressed the inadmissibility of continued arms supplies to Ukraine.
  • Lavrov reaffirmed Russia's readiness to settle the conflict in Ukraine and discussed normalizing operating conditions for Russian and US diplomatic missions.
  • The Russian delegation included Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko, Foreign Policy Planning Department Director Alexey Drobinin, and Presidential Representative to ASEAN Evgeny Zagaynov.
  • The US delegation included Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker and Presidential Special Envoy Sergio Gor.
According to Leonid Slutsky, head of the State Duma's committee on international affairs and leader of the LDPR Party, Lavrov "directly conveyed to his US counterpart information about the real state of affairs at the front," telling Rubio that European and Kyiv claims of a battlefield turnaround in Ukraine's favor are false. Slutsky added that Lavrov confirmed Russia's readiness for negotiations, which he said "squashed the attempts of the Zelensky regime and the leaders of the European war party to present a false and inverted picture." He also said the Russian delegation "specifically warned against pumping the Kiev regime with weapons."

The Russian delegation, led by Lavrov, also attended meetings of ASEAN foreign ministers in the Russia-ASEAN format, the East Asia Summit (EAS), and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Manila on July 21-23. TASS reported, citing Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, that the delegation would present its assessment of the situation in the Asia-Pacific region, "including the growing potential for conflict amid the West's policy of militarizing the Asia-Pacific, introducing NATO's military capabilities into the region, and expanding bloc-based mechanisms." The Russian side also focused on building a "seamless transcontinental space of multifaceted cooperation" in Eurasia by combining the potential of ASEAN, the Eurasian Economic Union, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

During the Russia-ASEAN meeting, ministers discussed the results of the anniversary summit marking the 35th anniversary of Russia-ASEAN relations, held in Kazan on June 17-18, and outlined steps to implement summit decisions for 2026-2030. The EAS agenda focused on preparations for the leaders' meeting scheduled for November, with Russia emphasizing the need for depoliticized dialogue and strengthened practical cooperation. At the ARF session, participants were expected to approve the forum's program for next year and the Manila Plan of Action for 2026-2036.

Slutsky described the continuation of Russian-US contacts as a "positive thing," but cautioned that "the 'spirit of Anchorage' will not replace the fighting spirit of Russian soldiers in achieving their goals. They will be achieved in any case - either at the negotiating table or on the battlefield."