Rubio calls Russian counterpart to discuss outcome of negotiations between Ukraine, Moscow

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday (May 17, 2025) called his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, to discuss the outcome of Friday’s direct negotiations between delegations of Kyiv and Moscow in Istanbul.

In the first ever direct talks in three years, Russian and Ukrainian delegation at their meeting lasting less than two hours agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war from each side and draft their respective proposals for a ceasefire to end the fighting which has entered into its fourth year.

At Friday’s talks, Ukraine demanded a direct meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Vladimir Putin.

“Marco Rubio welcomed the agreements reached on the exchange of prisoners of war and the intention of each side to prepare its own proposals outlining the conditions necessary for a ceasefire.

“He reaffirmed Washington’s readiness to continue supporting efforts towards a negotiated settlement,” a Russian Foreign Ministry statement posted on its web portal said.

“From his side, Minister Lavrov acknowledged the constructive role played by the United States in encouraging Kiev to finally accept President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to resume negotiations in Istanbul. He reiterated Moscow’s willingness to continue working with US colleagues in this context.” the Foreign Ministry said in its readout.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Mr. Lavrov and Mr. Rubio also touched on a number of other international and regional issues. The sides exchanged views on the continuation of Russian-American contacts.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not rule out a meeting between President Putin and Mr. Zelenskyy once ‘’agreements were ready”.

However, diplomats and experts opine that given the huge gap between the Russian and Ukrainian stands, a solution could be possible only after a meeting of President Trump and Putin, which itself requires a thorough groundwork.

Probably, Mr. Rubio’s call to his counterpart on Saturday indicates that both Moscow and Washington are working on an early US-Russian summit.