Baku, July 23, AZERTAC
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told his US counterpart Marco Rubio that continued Western arms supplies to Ukraine were “unacceptable” to Moscow, Anadolu Agency reported.
Lavrov and Rubio met in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, which is hosting a summit of the ASEAN bloc as well as its partners.
The meeting, the first since last September, lasted around 37 minutes and also discussed the state of bilateral diplomatic ties between Moscow and Washington, according to Russian state media TASS.
The two sides mostly focused on the settlement of the Ukraine conflict, which is in its fifth year since Russia launched its “special military operation” in February 2022.
According to Russian Sputnik News, Lavrov doubled down on Russia’s commitment to the US-floated proposals during the Alaska talks.
However, Lavrov drew “a red line on continued Western arms flows to Kyiv, warning Rubio that more weapons mean more escalation.”
Lavrov and Rubio also discussed ongoing tensions in the Persian Gulf amid the US-Iran war.
Rubio and Lavrov appeared before the media ahead of the talks. Rubio was joined by US Ambassador to India and Special Envoy for South and Central Asia Sergio Gor, State Department Counselor Dan Holler and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker.
Lavrov was accompanied by Russian Ambassador to ASEAN Evgeny Zagaynov, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko and Russian Foreign Ministry Foreign Policy Planning Department Director Alexey Drobinin.