Lavrov and Rubio hold phone call

Russia’s foreign minister and the US secretary of state agreed to maintain regular contact, including preparations for a Trump-Putin meeting

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday. The top diplomats agreed to hold regular contacts, including coordinating preparations for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump.

The call comes just days after Putin and Trump held their own phone conversation, marking the first known direct interaction between leaders of the two nations since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. Hours after that call on Wednesday, Trump told journalists at the White House that in-person talks would take place in Saudi Arabia.

Trump also spoke with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, who said he is prepared to seek an end to the conflict with Russia.

According to a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Lavrov and Rubio reaffirmed their readiness to work together on restoring mutually respectful dialogue. The top diplomats agreed to stay in regular contact, "including on preparing a Russian-American meeting at the top level.”

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They also undertook to arrange a meeting of relevant experts in the nearest future to find ways of resolving the tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions and closures of each other’s consulates in recent years.  

The Russian side reported that Lavrov and Rubio discussed the Ukraine conflict and the situation in Gaza.

Rubio reiterated Trump’s dedication to resolving the conflict in Ukraine, a brief readout from the US State Department said. The secretary and foreign minister explored the possibility of collaborating on various bilateral issues, it added.

Senior US officials, including Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff, will reportedly head to Saudi Arabia in the coming days to kick off peace talks involving Russian and Ukrainian negotiators. Major European powers are not expected to participate, according to Politico, citing its sources on Saturday.

During his presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly promised to swiftly end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Since entering office last month, the Republican has taken a starkly different approach to his predecessor Joe Biden. 

The US president claims he understands Russia’s concerns about Ukraine joining NATO and has stated that Kiev would not become part of the bloc under any settlement.

Russia has repeatedly said that it remains open to negotiations but has insisted that key issues, such as Ukraine’s NATO ambitions, must be resolved.