Rubio to meet Lavrov in New York on UN General Assembly sidelines

Why it matters

The meeting is a direct US–Russia ministerial encounter during a high-visibility multilateral week, and follows a Trump–Zelensky meeting the day before. Its timing places it within the US-led negotiation track on ending the war in Ukraine.

What happened

The US State Department announced, as reported by Reuters, that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York on Wednesday, September 23. The meeting takes place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Lavrov is expected to address the UN General Assembly on September 26.

The day before, on September 22, US President Donald Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky said after the meeting that Trump is positively disposed toward granting Ukraine licenses to produce Patriot missiles, and that the US did not ask Ukraine to unilaterally halt strikes on Russian energy infrastructure.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Rubio said there is currently no ceasefire agreement between Ukraine and Russia, that the war is disadvantageous for both Kyiv and Moscow, and that neither side will achieve a crushing military victory. He said American negotiators are working to end the confrontation and expressed hope that the war would end through a negotiated agreement. Lavrov had said the week before that Russia would not cease hostilities while possible negotiations are ongoing.

How Ukrainian sources describe it

Both Ukrainian-language source outlets covering the story foreground the Rubio–Lavrov meeting and link it to the preceding Zelensky–Trump meeting. They highlight Zelensky's reported readout — that Trump is positively disposed toward Patriot missile production licenses for Ukraine and that the US did not request a unilateral halt to strikes on Russian energy infrastructure — as the immediate framing for the US–Russia encounter.

Background

Rubio has stated there is no ceasefire agreement between Ukraine and Russia and that American negotiators are working to end the confrontation. Lavrov had said the week before that Russia would not cease hostilities while potential negotiations are ongoing, and is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on September 26. At the prior Zelensky–Trump meeting, the US did not request a unilateral Ukrainian halt to strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, and Zelensky said Trump is positively disposed toward granting Ukraine licenses to produce Patriot missiles.