U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a blunt message to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during their meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, urging Moscow to end the killings in Ukraine and take meaningful steps toward peace.
The private meeting, which lasted about 50 minutes in a New York hotel, began without any opening statements to the press. According to a State Department statement, Rubio repeated President Donald Trump’s call for Moscow to commit to a lasting resolution to the conflict.
The talks followed Trump’s surprising shift earlier this week, when he announced that he now believes Ukraine can regain all of its original territory, reversing his previous stance that Kyiv might need to accept territorial concessions to end the war.
“With the support of the European Union, Ukraine can fight and WIN back its entire territory in its original form,” Trump wrote, stressing that Russia and President Vladimir Putin are under severe economic pressure.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the shift, saying it signals a “better relationship” with Trump, though he admitted to being surprised by the U.S. leader’s turnaround.
Meanwhile, Moscow remains unmoved. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia will continue its “special military operation to safeguard our interests and achieve our objectives,” rejecting the possibility of changing course.
The Rubio-Lavrov meeting underscores the deep divide between Washington and Moscow, despite mounting international calls to end the war.
