Wednesday's meeting between Rubio and Lavrov took place in connection with the UN General Assembly.
Rubio "repeated President Trump's call to stop the killing and that Moscow must take real steps towards a long-term solution to the Russian-Ukrainian war", states the US State Department after the meeting.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the meeting confirmed the "common interest of the USA and Russia in finding peaceful solutions", reports the regime-loyal Russian news agency Interfax.
Want to talk to the USA
Lavrov is said to have emphasized Moscow's willingness to follow the line outlined at the meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska in August. This includes, among other things, dialogue with the USA on how to "address the root causes of the Ukrainian conflict", adds the Foreign Ministry in the statement.
At the same time, Lavrov is said to have complained to Rubio about Ukraine and European countries, which he describes as acting "to prolong the conflict".
Trump had previously urged Ukraine to make concessions to end the war.
But after Tuesday's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, it sounded different from Trump, who said he sees opportunities for Ukraine – with the right support from the EU and Nato – to win back all Ukrainian territory taken by Russia.
"(Vladimir) Putin and Russia are in a major economic crisis and it's time for Ukraine to act", Trump wrote on his own platform Truth Social after the meeting.
Zelenskyj noted in turn that Putin's lies have made Trump now trust Kyiv more.
"No alternatives"
Prior to Lavrov's meeting with Rubio, the Russian power hub Kremlin admitted that Russia's economy is facing challenges – but it does not affect Moscow's goals.
We continue our special military operation (Russia's description of the war) to secure our interests and achieve our goals, said spokesman Dmitry Peskov to Russian media on Wednesday.
Peskov also countered Trump's claim that Ukraine can win back Russian-occupied territories.
The idea that Ukraine can regain something is, from our point of view, incorrect, he says to reporters from among others AFP.
