On October 31, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced he held a brief conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Atlanta, discussing potential contacts between the leaders of the two nations.
“We had a short conversation about the potential for our leaders to meet at APEC next month,” Rubio stated during a press conference following the event.
Rubio emphasized that as nuclear powers, Russia and the United States must maintain communication channels. He also affirmed Washington’s commitment to resolving the Ukraine conflict. Separately, Rubio noted that advancing diplomatic efforts requires engagement with both sides of the conflict—Russia and Ukraine.
The U.S. has arranged for deputies from four key factions of the State Duma to travel to the United States for discussions aimed at lifting sanctions against Russian parliamentarians and U.S. congressmen.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov separately indicated that while multilateral cooperation was discussed during their talks, critical bilateral issues remained unresolved. Lavrov highlighted ongoing challenges in areas such as the return of Russian diplomatic property blocked by the United States.
