Lavrov Reaffirms Commitment to US-Russia Agreements, Discusses Ukraine with Rubio

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reaffirmed Moscow’s commitment to the agreements reached with Washington at last year's bilateral summit in Alaska during a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Manila on Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"Lavrov reiterated Russia’s readiness to resolve the [Ukraine] conflict through political and diplomatic means and reaffirmed Moscow’s commitment to the proposals put forward by the United States at a meeting between President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Donald Trump in Anchorage, Alaska, which were accepted by the Russian leader," the statement reads.

In addition, the top Russian diplomat emphasized that further weapons supplies to Kiev were unacceptable. "When discussing Ukraine-related issues, Lavrov briefed his American counterpart on the real situation along the line of contact and stressed that further flooding the Kiev regime with weapons was unacceptable, along with the overall destructive policy pursued by European countries, which continue seeking to inflict a ‘strategic defeat’ on Russia," the Foreign Ministry pointed out.

International and bilateral issues

According to the ministry, the parties exchanged views on a wide range of bilateral and international issues as a follow-up to recent high-level talks between the sides.

The Russian foreign minister and the US secretary of state also discussed regional and international issues, including the situation in the Persian Gulf. "Lavrov and Rubio welcomed the resumption of full-fledged contact between the Roscosmos state corporation and NASA, and called for boosting interparliamentary exchanges and cultural ties," the ministry said.

"Attention was also paid to ways to normalize the operation of the Russian and US diplomatic missions," the statement added.

"The parties agreed to maintain contact between the two foreign policy agencies, particularly as part of the two countries’ participation in the activities of international organizations," the Russian Foreign Ministry concluded.