US secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov after the Trump administration ramps up its trade war, threatening more than 18 important trade partners with bone-crushing tariffs.
The top US diplomat is set to meet Lavrov on the sidelines of the meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Kuala Lumpur, a senior state department official said. This comes at a time when Russian forces carried out one of the largest drone assaults on Kyiv late Wednesday night.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has accused the Russian president of talking "bullshit" about Ukraine, saying that the United States would send Kyiv more weapons to defend itself.
Rubio and Lavrov earlier met in person in February in Saudi Arabia, following a detailed conversation between Trump and Putin.
After visiting Malaysia, Lavrov will visit North Korea this weekend. This would be the second such high-profile visit by a Russian diplomat to Pyongyang after the two nations signed a series of pacts strengthening defence cooperation and military ties.
Pyongyang has emerged as one of the biggest supporters of Russia in its war against Ukraine. Reports indicate thousands of “North Korean Special Forces” are fighting alongside Russian forces on the entire battle line.
Before Rubio’s visit, US officials said that Washington was “prioritising" its commitment to East Asia and Southeast Asia.
In the upcoming meeting, Rubio is likely to attend a post-ministerial conference and a meeting with East Asian foreign ministers after Trump announced sanctions on more than 20 countries, including some from East Asia and Southeast Asia.
Among the top GDPs of the region, China, Japan, and South Korea are also supposed to attend the meeting.
Without mentioning the United States, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, on Thursday called for a "fairer and more reasonable" international order, after both sides agreed to dial down the ongoing reciprocal tariff war.
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