Russia warns US against Ukraine arms sales

n n

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned Washington against making “unacceptable” arms deliveries to Ukraine during a Thursday meeting with US counterpart Marco Rubio in Manila, Moscow said.

n

Lavrov told the US secretary of state “it was unacceptable to continue supplying weapons to the Kyiv regime”, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

n

In their meeting held on the sidelines of a summit of Southeast Asian foreign ministers, Moscow’s top diplomat also condemned what he called “a destabilising policy by European countries, which are still seeking to inflict a ‘strategic defeat’ on Russia”.

n

The first sit-down between Lavrov and Rubio since September 2025 comes as Washington’s focus has switched from mediating in Ukraine to dealing with war in the Middle East.

n

The US State Department said in a brief statement that the Rubio and Lavrov — who made no statements to the press ahead of their meeting — had discussed the “US-Russia relationship and the need to end the Russia-Ukraine war”.

n

Lavrov, according to Moscow’s statement, reiterated that the Russian side was ready for a “political-diplomatic resolution to the conflict”.

n

Both top diplomats are in the Philippines for meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

n

They were also expected to discuss the conflict in the Middle East, which has seen Moscow condemn Washington’s strikes on its ally Iran.

n

– Areas of cooperation –

n

Rubio spoke briefly with Lavrov at a gala dinner on Tuesday, and the two participated in an ASEAN meeting on Thursday.

n

“The war in Ukraine, I think, has in many ways impeded the ability of Russia and the United States to find areas of agreement on other topics,” Rubio told reporters on Wednesday.

n

“That doesn’t mean we won’t seek to find other areas of potential cooperation.

n

“But by the same token… we’d like to see that war come to an end,” he said.

n

On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had spoken with US envoys in a bid to revive stalled talks aimed at ending the years-long war.

n

“I just spoke with President Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. It was a good, important conversation on how to reinvigorate diplomacy and bring peace closer,” Zelensky said in a post on X.

n

US President Donald Trump has voiced support for Ukraine’s campaign of long-range drone strikes targeting Russian energy infrastructure, saying it could “help bring about an end” to the conflict.

n

In recent months, Kyiv has appeared to stall Moscow’s grinding offensive and has substantially expanded its drone strikes against Russia, disrupting ordinary life there in the war’s fifth year.

n

Moscow has meanwhile escalated its deadly missile strikes against Kyiv, launching dozens of hard-to-intercept rounds as Ukraine struggles with depleted air defence stocks.

n

AFP

n n