US State Secretary Marco Rubio hinted at a “new and different approach” on peace settlements in Ukraine from Moscow after his Thursday closed-door meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The two talked on the sidelines of a meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Kuala Lumpur.
The conversation came as Moscow escalated its aerial attacks across Ukraine, with Washington ostensibly having taken a U-turn and deciding to boost arms to Kyiv.
Rubio said the two exchanged “some ideas,” with the Russian side expressing “some viewpoints” that he would relay to Trump for further discussion without elaborating on the details.
“I don’t want to overpromise,” Rubio said.
A reporter then asked if Rubio would characterize Moscow’s proposals as “new ideas,” to which Rubio described them as “a new and different approach.”
“I think, maybe, erm, yes. I think it’s a new and different approach,” he said, before adding that he “wouldn’t characterize it as a guarantee of peace.”
“But it’s a concept that we’ll take back to the president today.”
Rubio also said the US will continue work on ending Moscow’s invasion despite being “frustrated that more progress has not been made.”
“Hopefully, based on today and in the days to come, we will have more clarity about exactly the Russian position and priorities are in this regard,” he said.
Regarding sanctions, Rubio said US President Donald Trump has been frustrated by the lack of peace progress, but it is a decision for Trump to make.
Moscow has been finessing its way out of the US’s ceasefire proposals for months by either naming new demands – such as the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from some parts of Ukraine – and issuing vague gestures, such as a “memorandum” for a ceasefire.
But Lavrov has recently proclaimed that Moscow will only accept a peace deal in which Ukraine is disarmed and all sanctions are dropped – essentially Kyiv’s capitulation that aligns with Moscow’s initial war goals.
It remains unclear whether the “new approach” referenced by Rubio – alongside Russia’s recent maximalist demands – is part of a strategy to later present softened terms that legitimize concessions from Ukraine.
