Malaysia has been the setting for a meeting on Thursday between the Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, and the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov. A meeting that comes shortly after President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric against Russia after expressing his frustration to Vladimir Putin for the Russian president's refusal to participate in peace talks with Ukraine.
Rubio detailed that he expressed to his Russian counterpart Washington's frustration for not having made more progress towards ending the war, although he noted that they had had "a frank conversation" for 50 minutes. The American also said that he conveyed Trump's complaints to Lavrov about "the lack of flexibility on the Russian side to end this conflict." He also insisted that the US side needs to "see a roadmap that progresses."
Rubio and Lavrov were in Kuala Lumpur for various meetings within the framework of the ASEAN summit (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), at a time of heightened tension in the region after Trump unleashed a new round of tariffs against many of his supposed Asian allies a few days ago.
But the focus, more than on trade disputes, has momentarily shifted to the meeting between Rubio and Lavrov, who were meeting again after a first encounter last February in Saudi Arabia, which was the first high-level meeting between the two countries in almost three years. While the US pushed for a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia that never materialized, they have shared several phone calls in recent months.
However, the ongoing Russian attacks with record drones and missiles seem to have tested Trump's patience, who this week stated that he was considering a bill presented in the Senate that would impose severe sanctions on Russia and countries that buy its oil. "I'm not happy with Putin, I can assure you right now, because he's killing a lot of people," the Republican said on Tuesday during a cabinet meeting.
Hours before the meeting between the top diplomats of the US and Russia, Putin's army bombed Kiev. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia launched 18 missiles and around 400 drones against Ukraine during a "massive combined attack" that lasted nearly 10 hours. "This is a clear escalation of terrorism by Russia," Zelensky wrote on social media.
The meeting in Malaysia also coincides with the news that Washington is preparing to send more weapons to Ukraine, including air defense missiles, artillery shells, and other equipment. Although Europe does not hide its skepticism about Trump's unstable support for Kiev. "Putin is not treating humans well. That's why we're sending defensive weapons to Ukraine, and I've approved it," Trump said days after the White House announced that the Pentagon had halted deliveries of some weapons to Ukraine.
While Lavrov traveled to Malaysia to strengthen trade relations with Southeast Asian countries, the US representative aimed to strengthen some security ties against the advance of China's influence and military power. In contrast, Marco sought to calm tensions following Trump's latest push in his trade war. Eight of the 10 ASEAN countries, along with South Korea and Japan, will face tariffs on August 1 if they do not reach an agreement with Washington.
Another face-to-face meeting between Rubio and the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, is expected in Kuala Lumpur. Washington accuses Beijing of being a "decisive facilitator" of the Russian invasion of Ukraine by selling Moscow dual-use technologies that Putin uses in the war.
Wang also held a meeting with his Russian counterpart, to whom he assured, according to Chinese media, that the Asian superpower would work with Russia to "deepen strategic cooperation and safeguard the security and development interests of both countries."