News Flash
MOSCOW, Sept 19, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet US counterpart Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly next week, Russian state media cited Moscow's UN envoy as saying Friday.
US President Donald Trump has expressed mounting frustration at Moscow, and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in particular, for not having struck a deal to end its Ukraine offensive.
Trump had pledged to end the conflict rapidly upon returning to office, but Putin has rejected calls for a ceasefire and pledged to continue fighting if a peace agreement on Moscow's terms cannot be reached.
Lavrov and Rubio "will discuss an entire range of issues, both bilateral and multilateral. There is no specific agenda yet, but a meeting is being planned," said Russia's permanent representative at the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, according to the state-run Vesti news outlet.
Three rounds of direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have not resulted in any progress towards a deal.
Tens of thousands have been killed since Russia launched its offensive in February 2022, with millions of Ukrainians forced from their homes in the east and south of the country.
Trump said Thursday that Putin had "really let me down" and is urging countries to stop buying Russian oil, which provides tens of billions of dollars a year for the Kremlin.