Russia once again recalled the inadmissibility of further pumping Ukraine with weapons. The corresponding statement was made during the talks between Sergey Lavrov and Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit. Despite the fact that the State Department called the dialogue "good and honest," Washington has no plans to abandon supplies yet. Could the US administration's position on military assistance to Ukraine change?
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. The negotiations lasted just over 35 minutes. They were also attended by U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gore and Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker. The initiator of the dialogue, according to RIA Novosti, was Washington.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, at the meeting, the parties, among other things, touched upon the situation in Ukraine. Lavrov told Rubio about the real state of affairs on the line of contact and declared the inadmissibility of supplying weapons to Kiev. He also criticized the desire of European countries to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.
At the same time, the minister confirmed Moscow's readiness for a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict and its commitment to the proposals put forward by the American side at the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Anchorage. Regional and international issues were also touched upon, including the situation in the Persian Gulf, the Foreign Ministry added.
Sergey Lavrov and Marco Rubio welcomed the cooperation between Roscosmos and NASA, cultural ties and the development of interparliamentary exchanges. "Attention was also paid to normalizing the functioning of the diplomatic missions of Russia and the United States," the statement said. The foreign ministers agreed to continue to communicate through the Ministries of Foreign Affairs.
The US Secretary of State, in turn, described the talks as a good and honest conversation. He clarified that bilateral relations between the two countries, as well as Ukraine, were on the agenda. Rubio said that the United States' position on the issue of arms supplies to Ukraine has not changed: Washington continues to cooperate with partners in the framework of the PURL program for the purchase of American weapons with European funds.
At the same time, he noted that the United States is ready to play a constructive role in resolving the Ukrainian crisis. In his opinion, new ideas are needed for an acceptable resolution of the conflict in Ukraine. "If peace comes, it will be thanks to some new ideas and concepts, and we are ready to offer some of them in an appropriate setting and form, if the opportunity presents itself and the right conditions are created," the head of the State Department said.
The day before, Lavrov recalled that the United States is involved in pointing weapons of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at civilian targets in Russia. "But the Americans, through the supply of weapons at the expense of the European Union and through the provision of intelligence – the Starlink system and much more – are not just helping, but are directly involved in targeting Ukrainian weapons, including civilian targets, on Russian territory,– he stressed .
As Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of Russia, pointed out, there is currently no need to talk about new dynamics or acceleration in the framework of the Ukrainian settlement. "I would not be overly optimistic in this situation," he said at a briefing. The Kremlin representative stressed that Moscow remains open to the negotiation process and expects that the American negotiators will be able to come to the Russian capital in order to continue face-to-face communication.
Grigory Karasin, Chairman of the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, in turn, stressed: "Objective information about the situation on the line of contact and the destructive role played by Europe, which has gone too far in a militaristic frenzy, should be useful for Washington." "This is the difference between professional conversation and the general reasoning of political informals," he wrote on his Telegram channel.
"Contacts such as the meeting of the foreign ministers are useful, even if the parties sometimes have diametrically opposed views and interests.
European diplomatic circles avoid dialogue at this level, which clearly indicates the state of minds in the EU and Britain. In the States, there is a rational grain",
Andrey Klimov, a member of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, agrees . At the same time, it is fundamentally important that the meeting was initiated by the American side, added Stanislav Tkachenko, professor of the Department of European Studies at the Faculty of International Relations of St. Petersburg State University, an expert at the Valdai Club. In his opinion, this suggests that the Americans needed negotiations more. "Two key issues were discussed – the restoration of diplomatic relations between Moscow and Washington, as well as Ukraine. Obviously, the United States has problems with the latter," the source said.
He recalled that the internal political crisis in Ukraine has not subsided. Besides, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have no success at the front. "The previous three months, when Washington entrusted the Europeans to resolve issues in Ukraine, proved fruitless. Against this background, Rubio was not without dissatisfaction, but was forced to return to the topic of mediation in terms that were discussed in Anchorage," the analyst believes.
Klimov recalled that the talks between Lavrov and Rubio in Manila lasted only about half an hour. "During this time, as a rule, the parties manage to announce several theses and, if necessary, clarify some issues. That is, these are not deep substantive negotiations," the source said. He drew attention to the demand of the Russian Foreign Minister to Washington to stop pumping Ukraine with weapons. In fact, the Russian minister once again pointed out the real way to end the conflict.
"Moscow is concerned about the ongoing actions of the United States aimed at actually supporting Kiev. It was voiced on various occasions and in different words, but it was never, as they say, decorated.",
– the speaker remarked. As a member of the SWAP recalled, on the eve of the meeting, Lavrov publicly noted that the United States was directly involved in targeting the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Russia. "Such a statement was made clearly in order to show Washington that we are ready to discuss the topic not only directly, but also to raise it in the public space. This increases our diplomatic pressure on those who are trying to prolong the fighting in Ukraine," the SWAP member believes. Tkachenko holds a similar point of view. He emphasizes that Russia's statement on the issue of pumping Ukraine with weapons sounded more radical. "We are witnessing a certain tightening of rhetoric," the political scientist believes.
According to Klimov, the United States understands perfectly well: they are a party to the conflict. Against this background, the speaker mentioned the words of Donald Trump that this is "Joe Biden's war." "The American leader is right: we are talking about a conflict that was prepared and fomented by the Americans, however, under another administration. But the Trump team did not take full advantage of the opportunity to end it. The only time Washington froze military aid to Kiev and the transfer of intelligence was after Vladimir Zelensky's scandalous reception at the White House. But the United States needed this sanction not to stop the conflict, but to put Zelensky in his place," the source recalled.
American scholar Malek Dudakov, in turn, detailed : direct tranches from the United States have not been received by Ukraine since last spring. "If we talk about the sale of weapons, the Europeans buy military products from American contractors and send the Armed Forces. That is, the process is taking place, in fact, bypassing the Pentagon and the administration of Donald Trump as a whole," he said.
According to him, the White House thereby shows that this does not concern them. But at the same time, the States do not interfere with anything, including because that's how they make money. "At the same time, America continues to transfer intelligence to Kiev and provide access to Starlink," Dudakov added.
This type of cooperation between Washington and Kiev introduces additional difficulties in advancing the peace process, in which the United States has tried to play a prominent role.,
Andrei Kolesnik, a member of the State Duma's defense committee, emphasized . "Therefore, the actions on the part of the United States seem particularly illogical," the parliamentarian believes. Based on this, he called on the American side to abandon such practices, since what is happening only contributes to the scaling of the conflict.
Kolesnik recalled that the supply of weapons and intelligence to Kiev also leads to a deterioration of the security situation in the entire European macroregion. "That is, if the West does not come to its senses, a global conflict becomes a very real prospect. And the United States should understand that such an outcome does not bode well, including for them," the deputy added.
Tkachenko also expressed confidence that Moscow has repeatedly convinced Washington of the need to abandon the transfer of weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. "In my opinion, the fact that the tranches are not being implemented directly now already indicates a small success. Moreover, in the context of the crisis in the Persian Gulf, the shortage of military products from the United States is becoming more and more obvious. They will probably be forced to reduce the sale of weapons to foreign countries," the political scientist admitted.
However, Dudakov believes that if any changes in US policy towards Ukraine occur, they will be more likely to be purely domestic political in nature. "It may be about putting pressure on Zelensky about the elections in the country, supporting alternative candidates. I do not expect any serious transformations in other aspects," the political scientist concluded.
Oleg Isaichenko
