Russia refutes US media claims of Lavrov-Rubio meeting delay
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Russian officials dismiss Western reports of suspended preparatory meeting ahead of potential Trump-Putin summit.
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Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov arrives for a news conference in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025 (AP)
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov dismissed reports that a planned meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been suspended, calling such claims “unfounded bogus stories.”
“I would like to point out that it’s impossible to put on hold what has not been agreed on,” Ryabkov said, according to TASS.
“I am sure that we will continue to face a situation where various news outlets, namely Western ones, release unfounded bogus stories in order to make the headlines and trigger speculations and questions, spreading it all and making sure it is analyzed the way the Westerners need,” he added.
CNN had earlier reported, citing White House sources, that a meeting between Lavrov and Rubio “had been put on hold for the time being.”
Rubio-Lavrov phone discussion
According to US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott, Secretary Rubio spoke with Lavrov on October 20 “to discuss next steps following the October 16 call between President Trump and President Putin."
Rubio emphasized the importance of upcoming engagements as an opportunity for "Moscow and Washington to collaborate on advancing a durable resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war, in line with President Trump’s vision.”
Ryabkov clarified to reporters that Moscow is focused on the substance of the conversation, not on arranging a formal meeting.
“The fact is that the presidential communications, in fact, the telephone conversations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump last week, included, among other things, the topic of next steps,” he was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.
“One aspect of these steps is, of course, the contact between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio,” he added.
“The corresponding contact took place yesterday. We are now working on what the minister and the secretary of state discussed,” the Russian diplomat revealed.
He added that before the telephone conversation, the issue of a meeting was not specifically raised, explaining that the idea for a meeting exists, but it was still premature to talk about a schedule.
“Any contact of such significance must be properly prepared,” Ryabkov said, adding, “It requires careful homework.”
Read more: Medvedev rejects Trump's idea of dual victory in Ukraine conflict
Confidentiality on military issues
When asked if the call covered US deliveries of Tomahawk missiles to Kiev, Ryabkov declined to comment, stating, “I am not prepared to disclose the content of these kinds of contacts.”
“The essence of closed work is that certain topics simply cannot be made public,” the deputy minister told reporters.
Lavrov discuss detailed talks with Rubio
Later, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed that he held a “fairly detailed conversation” with Rubio the previous day, in line with the understandings reached between Putin and Trump during their October 16 phone call.
“We held a fairly detailed conversation with Marco Rubio yesterday in accordance with the agreement reached by Presidents Putin and Trump,” Lavrov said following talks with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timotheos in Moscow.
Lavrov noted that the two diplomats agreed to maintain regular contact “to better understand where we stand and how we should proceed on the correct track.” He added that both sides discussed the structure of an upcoming meeting between Putin and Trump, with Budapest being considered as the venue, a proposal that has been “agreed in principle” by Moscow and Washington.
Stopping now would ignore root causes in Ukraine
Addressing the war in Ukraine, Lavrov warned against calls from Washington for an immediate halt to hostilities, arguing that such a move would “mean forgetting the root causes of the conflict.”
“Simply stopping would mean forgetting the root causes of this conflict, which the American administration, since President Donald Trump came to power, clearly understood,” Lavrov said, emphasizing that a premature ceasefire would leave “most of Ukraine under Nazi control.”
He criticized pressure from “Zelensky’s European patrons,” insisting that their push for an instant cessation of fighting contradicted the “Anchorage understandings” between Trump and Putin that focused on addressing root political and security causes.
Lavrov also condemned remarks from Polish officials suggesting that Putin’s plane might not be guaranteed safe passage through Polish airspace should he travel to the proposed summit in Budapest.
“Poles are now ready to commit terrorist acts themselves,” Lavrov said, citing comments by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. He added that such threats reflect Warsaw’s “readiness to justify terrorist attacks,” recalling Poland’s role in the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines.
“These are very indicative cases,” Lavrov concluded, accusing Warsaw of further escalating tensions in Europe.
Pre-summit coordination
The phone call between Rubio and Lavrov is seen as preparatory to a potential Trump-Putin summit, tentatively scheduled in Budapest, following discussions in Anchorage earlier this year.
Both capitals emphasize that dialogue is ongoing, despite media speculation over timing and content, as the Trump administration seeks an end to the war in Ukraine.
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