'New' ideas shared in talks on Ukraine conflict

RUSSIAN Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US top diplomat Marco Rubio held “frank” talks on the Ukraine war during a meeting on Thursday.

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The US secretary of state said Lavrov shared new ideas on resolving the conflict which he promised to present to US President Donald Trump.

Trump forced the warring countries to open negotiations for the first time in three years.

The US leader's efforts to secure a ceasefire have failed to extract any concessions from the Kremlin, despite multiple calls with Putin.

Rubio told reporters Lavrov had floated something “new” on the conflict, but did not give details.

“It's not a new approach. It’s a new idea or a new concept that I’ll take back to the president to discuss,” he said.

The US diplomat said he had also conveyed Trump's anger that the more than three-year war, triggered by Russia’s 2022 invasion, was still ongoing, criticising Moscow’s lack of “flexibility”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the US would deliver more weapons to Kyiv and that he had “specific dates” on when they would arrive.