 "Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reacts as he talks to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the 15th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 11, 2025. Reuters File")
Russia on Monday said that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a “constructive” conversation as part of preparations for an upcoming summit between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
The talks follow a phone call last Thursday in which Putin and Trump agreed to hold their second summit of the year in Budapest, Hungary.
Both sides had confirmed that Lavrov and Rubio would coordinate ahead of the meeting.
“A constructive discussion took place regarding possible concrete steps to implement the understandings reached during the October 16 telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump,” Reuters quoted the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying in a brief statement.
It gave no further detail on the conversation.
Russia says it wants the summit to discuss a possible peace settlement in Ukraine and ways to improve bilateral relations between Moscow and Washington.
With inputs from agencies