Lavrov ready to meet Rubio, but sticks to old demands

According to Ukrinform, this was reported by Reuters.

“Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday that he was ready to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio but that Russia would not abandon its core conditions for ending the Ukraine war,” the report reads.

Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump canceled a planned meeting with Putin in Budapest, and just recently the Kremlin dismissed Western media reports claiming that Lavrov had fallen out of favor with Putin when the summit plans collapsed.

“Secretary of State Marco Rubio and I understand the need for regular communication. It is important for discussing the Ukrainian issue and promoting the bilateral agenda. That is why we communicate by telephone and are ready to hold face-to-face meetings when necessary,” Lavrov said.

As Reuters notes, Lavrov’s comments confirm that Moscow continues to push the Trump administration to pressure Ukraine into giving up territory in exchange for a “peace deal” that lacks real security guarantees.

As reported earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin claimed that Moscow was supposedly ready for direct talks with Ukraine, asserting that the “only problem” is an alleged “lack of political will on Kyiv’s part.”