‘New’ ideas on Ukraine discussed in talks with Lavrov – Rubio

The US secretary of state has described his conversation with the Russian foreign minister on Thursday as “frank” and “important”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said he and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed “new and different” ideas on resolving the Ukraine conflict during their meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN forum in Malaysia on Thursday.

Commenting after the talks, Rubio described them as “frank and important,” adding that he would brief US President Donald Trump on the discussion later on Thursday.

The two diplomats met for around an hour, according to Reuters.

The US will continue to talk to both Russia and Ukraine in an effort to bring peace closer, according to the top American diplomat. “Our strategy is to continue to engage all the parties that are involved in finding an outcome to this conflict,” Rubio told journalists when asked about Trump’s approach to resolving the standoff. “We will engage anytime we have an opportunity to do so like we did today.”

According to Rubio, he and Lavrov discussed a possible roadmap for ending the Ukraine conflict and “shared some ideas about what that might look like.” He also expressed hope that Russia would demonstrate more “flexibility” in its approach.

The new proposals do not necessarily “guarantee peace,” Rubio said, but added that they could still be “something to build on.”