Russia says warned Rubio against arms deliveries to Ukraine

MANILA

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, center right, attends a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, center left, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers Meeting in Pasay, Metro Manila on Thursday, July 23, 2026. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool Photo via AP)

Russia warned the United States on Thursday against making "unacceptable" arms deliveries to Ukraine, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov "stressed that it was unacceptable to continue supplying weapons to the Kiev regime" in a meeting with his U.S. counterpart Marco Rubio, it said.

The top U.S. and Russian diplomats discussed the war in Ukraine during a meeting July 23 on the sidelines of a summit of Southeast Asian leaders in Manila.

The sit-down came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had spoken with U.S. envoys in a bid to revive stalled talks aimed at ending the years-long war.

Rubio, who hosted the Manila meeting, and Lavrov were seated at a table as journalists entered the room. They made no statements to the press.

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

The U.S. State Department said the two discussed the "U.S.-Russia relationship and the need to end the Russia-Ukraine war" during the meeting, without providing further details.

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

"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 July 22.

"That doesn't mean we won't seek to find other areas of potential cooperation.

"But by the same token... we'd like to see that war come to an end," he said.

For his part, Lavrov indicated the meeting would "be useful in any case. It's good to ask questions and get answers".

Discussions aimed at ending the conflict in Ukraine have been at a standstill, with U.S. attention now focused on the Middle East and Moscow maintaining its demand that Kiev cede territory.

On July 23, Zelensky said in a post on X that he had "a good, important conversation on how to reinvigorate diplomacy" with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Rubio spoke briefly with Lavrov at a gala dinner on July 21, and the two participated in a meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum on July 23 morning.

U.S. 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.

Ukraine has been escalating its drone strikes, targeting refineries, oil depots and cargo ships at sea, which has caused fuel shortages in Russia.

In late June, a massive barrage of Russian missiles and drones killed at least 30 people in the Ukrainian capital Kiev.