US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated that new talks between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin could take place in just a few weeks. This is reported by RBC-Ukraine citing the ANSA agency. According to Rubio, he held a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, which focused precisely on the potential meeting between the two leaders.
Phone Conversation Between Rubio and Lavrov
«We briefly discussed the possibility of our leaders meeting for talks at the APEC summit next month,» the US Secretary of State stated. Thus, Washington has publicly confirmed that the issue of the format and location of the high-level summit has already been elevated to the foreign policy departments of the two countries. At the same time, Rubio did not disclose details: it was not specified whether the meeting would be bilateral, in what format (face-to-face or within a multilateral platform), and exactly what topics would be on the agenda.
APEC Summit as a Possible Venue
Rubio named the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which he said is scheduled for November 18–19 in China, as a likely location for the talks. The choice of this venue is logical: the APEC summit traditionally gathers the leaders of the region's largest economies, allowing for bilateral consultations «on the sidelines» without a separate diplomatic event. At the same time, Rubio added that it is still not known for certain whether the Russian leader will participate in the G20 summit in Miami, indicating that alternative venue scenarios also remain in view.
Context: Trump's Statements on the Meeting and Ending the War
The announcement of the possible meeting fits into a series of recent statements by Donald Trump. Earlier, the head of the White House stated that he plans to hold a meeting with both his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, but has not yet disclosed where and when such negotiations might take place. In parallel, Trump made a new statement regarding the end of the war in Ukraine. It was separately noted that the White House chief might postpone the supply of Patriot missiles to Ukraine until the US elections, which heightens attention to diplomatic tracks.
Assessments and Previous Contacts
Against the backdrop of preparations for the possible meeting, Trump had previously commented on the course of the conflict, stating that Putin, in his opinion, is no less interested in a peace deal on Ukraine than other parties, and also reacting to violations of the energy truce. Previous direct contacts between the two leaders, including telephone calls, have already been recorded during the current negotiation cycle, making a possible meeting at APEC a logical step. Nevertheless, neither the date, nor the format, nor the outcome of potential talks at the APEC summit has been officially confirmed at the time of publication.
