“New Ideas Needed”: Secret Negotiations Held Between the US and Russia

According to statements from both sides, no breakthroughs were achieved in the negotiations between Rubio and Lavrov.
Photo: EPA

The world's attention has once again turned to diplomatic struggles behind closed doors. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held unexpected talks on ending the war in Ukraine on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in the Philippines. At the end of the meeting, Washington admitted that all previous proposals had failed and that “new ideas” were now necessary. So, why did the Anchorage agreements not work, and what is the Kremlin's main demand?

Zamin.uz has gathered the most important and confidential diplomatic details of the day in one place.

Rubio-Lavrov Meeting: Were Previous Plans Scrapped?

After the meeting, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio openly admitted that the summit held last year in Anchorage between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin did not bring peace. According to him, the old proposals were completely unacceptable to Ukraine, and the situation has not changed.

Marco Rubio:

“We will need new ideas to resolve the conflict peacefully. Ukraine will never accept the conditions discussed previously.”

Sergey Lavrov refrained from making an open statement after the meeting. The Russian Foreign Ministry only released a brief press release stating that the “real situation on the front” had been conveyed to his American counterpart and that complaints had been made regarding the destabilizing policies of European states.

Zelenskyy, Kushner, and “Secret Diplomacy” in Baku

A few hours before the Lavrov-Rubio meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke by phone with Trump's special envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.

It is reported that during the conversation, the American mediators presented several new options for further negotiations.

The unexpected news is that secret consultations were also held in parallel in Azerbaijan. Former Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov and former high-ranking German officials arrived in Baku. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev indirectly confirmed that these meetings were secret negotiations to end the war.

Dmitry Peskov (Press Secretary of the Russian President):

“One should not be overly optimistic; it is too early to talk about new dynamics. However, we are awaiting the visit of Washington representatives Kushner and Witkoff to Moscow.”

Why Have the Negotiations Reached a Deadlock?

According to insider sources from European and US media (Reuters, Bloomberg), the biggest obstacle to a peace deal remains territorial issues.

According to sources, Vladimir Putin harshly criticized his advisors who proposed simply freezing the front line and stopping fire, and he has taken an uncompromising position on the Donbas issue.

Do you think “new ideas” can stop the war?

Behind-the-scenes games in high politics are intensifying. The next steps between Washington, Moscow, and Kyiv could determine the fate of the war in the coming weeks.

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Do you think the parties will reach a compromise soon, or will the negotiations stall again? Leave your opinion in the comments!