US says committed to ending Ukraine war after Manila talks

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday, July 23, 2026, that the United States remains prepared to play a constructive role in ending the war in Ukraine, following a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Manila. The talks, held on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers' gathering, did not produce a breakthrough but signaled a continued willingness to explore diplomatic avenues.

Rubio stated that President Donald Trump had made clear the U.S. was ready to help facilitate an end to what he called a "senseless" and "very bloody war." He said Washington had conveyed this position to Moscow, though he declined to detail Russia's specific response or the specifics of their closed-door conversation. Rubio acknowledged the heavy toll of the conflict, citing civilian casualties and strikes on Kyiv, and noted that both Russia and Ukraine should have an incentive to end the fighting. The central challenge, he said, remains finding a settlement acceptable to both sides, a goal the U.S. would continue to pursue.

According to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry, Lavrov reaffirmed Moscow's readiness for a political...