Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Manila to discuss the Ukraine crisis and bilateral relations. During the meeting, Lavrov cautioned that European efforts to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia and the ongoing arming of Kyiv are “unacceptable.” He reaffirmed Moscow’s readiness for a diplomatic resolution, citing commitments based on proposals framed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump during their August 2025 summit in Alaska. Beyond the conflict, the diplomats agreed to normalize embassy operations and welcomed the full resumption of cooperation between space agencies NASA and Roscosmos.