Marco Rubio claims US, Russia have come up with a 'new' approach for Ukraine peace talks

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday told reporters in Malaysia that the United States and Russia have exchanged new ideas for peace talks with Ukraine that he will propose to President Donald Trump.

The comment comes after Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Malaysia, while attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit this week. 

The secretary did not provide details on the meeting or the peace talks proposal, but it comes as the U.S. expresses frustration with Russia over the status of negotiations related to ending its invasion of Ukraine.

“I think it’s a new and a different approach,” Rubio told reporters. “I wouldn’t characterize it as something that guarantees a peace, but it’s a concept that, you know, that I’ll take back to the president. We need to see a roadmap moving forward about how this conflict can conclude. And then we shared some ideas about what that might look like."

Lavrov described the 50-minute meeting as a "substantive and frank exchange of views" on a myriad of issues, including Ukraine, Iran and Syria, according to the Associated Press.

“Both countries reaffirmed their mutual commitment to finding peaceful solutions to conflicts, restoring Russian-American economic and humanitarian cooperation, and unimpeded contact between the societies of the two countries, something which could be facilitated by resuming direct air traffic,” the minister said. “The importance of further work to normalize bilateral diplomatic relations was also emphasized.”

Thursday's meeting marked the second time the two top diplomats have met in person since Rubio took office in January. The first occurred in Saudi Arabia in February. They have also spoken on the phone multiple times.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.