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\n US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Manila Thursday morning.\n <\/p>\n
\n Neither answered questions from reporters about whether Russia was supporting Iran by helping to target US troops, or whether Moscow plans to halt its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.\n <\/p>\n
\n A readout from the State Department later confirmed the two envoys discussed \u201cthe US-Russia relationship and the need to end the Russia-Ukraine war.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n On Wednesday, Rubio was asked by a reporter on whether he planned to press Lavrov on Ukraine during their meeting.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if the term is press him. We\u2019re going to talk about it,\u201d Rubio replied.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cObviously the war in Ukraine has in many ways impeded the ability of Russia and the United States to find areas of agreement on other topics, that doesn\u2019t mean we won\u2019t seek to find other areas of potential cooperation,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cBut by the same token, we\u2019d like to see that war come to an end \u2026 so we\u2019ll raise it,\u201d Rubio added.\n <\/p>\n
\n Asked what role the US is playing in reaching an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, given talks have dissipated, Rubio said: \u201cPerhaps there are now new conditions in place that will allow that conversation to happen.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt\u2019s one of the things we\u2019ll explore tomorrow in our conversation,\u201d he added.\n <\/p>\n