Rubio to Lavrov: US frustrated by 'lack of progress' in Ukraine

The secretary of state described the 50-minute meeting with the Russian foreign minister as “a frank and important conversation,” according to media reports.

Marco Rubio at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).AFP.

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Diane Hernández

10 de julio, 2025

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that he expressed his "disappointment and frustration" to his Russian counterpart regarding the lack of progress in ending the war in Ukraine.

"I echoed what the president [Donald Trump] said, a disappointment and frustration at the lack of progress," the U.S. secretary of state told reporters after meeting with Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Malaysia.

🚨 | El @SecRubio anunció la firma de un memorando de entendimiento con el ministro de Asuntos Exteriores de Malasia, Mohamad Hasan, para promover la cooperación en materia de energía nuclear civil pic.twitter.com/1j7c4WJivd
— VOZ (@VozMediaUSA) July 10, 2025

Rubio described the 50-minute meeting with the Russian foreign minister as "a frank" and "important conversation," according to media reports.

Rubio also claimed that Lavrov had presented a "new idea or a new vision" on Ukraine during the meeting, though he did not provide further details. While the proposal, he noted, “will not automatically lead to peace,” it could “potentially open the door to a new path.” Rubio said he plans to relay the Russian proposal to President Trump.

ASEAN and Trump's tariffs

The meeting between Rubio and Lavrov took place on the sidelines of a gathering of ASEAN foreign ministers, the regional alliance of Southeast Asian nations. Just hours earlier, according to Ukrainian sources, Russia had launched its largest missile and drone strikes against Ukraine since the war began in February 2022.

Rubio arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday morning — his first trip to Asia since taking office in January. Among other topics, the ASEAN foreign ministers discussed President Trump’s tariff threats against several Asian countries.

ASEAN currently includes ten member states: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Back and forth between the U.S., Ukraine and Russia as the war continues

Following President Trump’s inauguration in January, the administration reached out to Russia, even initiating direct talks between officials from Moscow and Washington. However, despite these efforts, no progress has been made toward a ceasefire in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

Recently, President Trump has voiced growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “We’re getting a lot of nonsense,” the U.S. president said last Tuesday. Just a day earlier, on Monday, Trump had announced plans to send additional weapons to Ukraine.