US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said new approaches would be needed to reach a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. In an interview with The Guardian, he said Washington was prepared to play a constructive role in that process.
Rubio argued that any progress toward peace would depend on fresh ideas and concepts. He added that the United States was ready to put forward its own proposals if the right opportunity, format and conditions emerged.
The secretary of state also said a single meeting would not be enough to produce a result, stressing that the parties still faced a substantial amount of work. According to him, Washington supports an end to the conflict and is prepared to take part in efforts toward a settlement. He added that the US president was also interested in that outcome.
A day earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Sergei Lavrov had briefed Rubio on the situation along the line of contact and stressed that further arms supplies to Ukraine were unacceptable.
Zakharova also said the US side had initiated the meeting between Lavrov and Rubio. The talks took place in the Philippines on July 23 and lasted 35 minutes.