Rubio Has 'Frank' Talks With Russia's Lavrov in Kuala Lumpur

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he expressed the United States' frustration that more progress has not been made on ending the war in Ukraine, in a meeting on July 10 with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

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KUALA LUMPUR - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he expressed the United States' frustration that more progress has not been made on ending the war in Ukraine, in a meeting on July 10 with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"It was a frank conversation. It was an important one," Mr. Rubio said of his 50-minute talk with Mr. Lavrov on the sidelines of the Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

He said he expressed to Mr. Lavrov what US President Donald Trump has said publicly, "that there has not been more flexibility on the Russian side to bring about an end to this conflict."

The envoys' second in-person meeting came amid intensified Russian attacks in Ukraine.

Mr. Trump has grown increasingly - and publicly - frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin as the war drags on.